CNBC

name	CNBC
logofile	CNBC.svg
logosize	150px
branding	CNBC
launch	April 17, 1989
picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
share
network	NBC
owner	NBCUniversal
slogan	"First in Business Worldwide"
country	United States
language	English
broadcast area	United States Canada
headquarters	Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, United States
sister names	CNBC WorldMSNBCNBCWeather Channel
Callsign meaning	Consumer News and Business Channel
web	CNBC.com
sat serv 1	DirecTV (U.S.)
sat chan 1	355 (SD/HD)
sat serv 2	Dish Network (U.S.)
sat chan 2	208 (SD/HD)9439 (HD)
sat serv 3	C-Band
sat chan 3	AMC-10, Channel 101 (Transponder 13)
sat serv 4	Shaw Direct (Canada)
sat chan 4	504
cable serv 1	Available on most US and Canadian cable systems
cable chan 1	Check local listings for channels
cable serv 2	In-House (Washington)
cable chan 2	Channel 13
cable serv 3	Verizon FiOS
cable chan 3	102 (SD) 602 (HD)
sat radio serv 1	Sirius
sat radio chan 1	112
sat radio serv 2	XM
sat radio chan 2	112
adsl serv 1	AT&T; U-verse
adsl chan 1	Channel 216 (SD)Channel 1216 (HD)
iptv serv 2	Bell Fibe TV (Canada)
iptv chan 2	Channel 509
online serv 1	CNBC Plus
online chan 1	(US$9.95/month or US$99.95/year) }}

CNBC (officially the Consumer News and Business Channel until 1991) is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers around the world. In 2007, the network was ranked as the 19th most valuable cable channel in the U.S., worth roughly $4 billion. It is headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

History

The CNBC channel originally had its beginnings around 1980 as the Satellite Program Network (SPN), showing a low-budget mix of old movies, instructional and entertainment programs. The channel later changed its name to Tempo Television. After initially signing a letter of intent to acquire Tempo, NBC eventually opted for a deal to lease the channel's transponder in June 1988. On this platform, and under the guidance of Tom Rogers, the channel was relaunched on April 17, 1989 as the Consumer News and Business Channel. NBC and Cablevision initially operated CNBC as a 50-50 joint venture, choosing to headquarter the channel in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

CNBC had considerable difficulty getting cable carriage at first, as many providers were skeptical of placing it alongside the longer-established Financial News Network. By the winter of 1990, CNBC was only in 17 million homes - less than half of FNN's potential reach – despite having the muscle of NBC standing behind it.

However, around this time, FNN encountered serious financial difficulties. After a protracted bidding war with a Dow Jones-Westinghouse Broadcasting consortium (the former's assets would be used to build a rival channel almost two decades later), CNBC acquired FNN for $154.3 million on May 21, 1991 and immediately merged the two operations, hiring around 60 of FNN's 300-strong workforce. The deal increased the distribution of the newly enlarged network to over 40 million homes. Cablevision sold its 50% stake to NBC upon completion of the deal. With the full name "Consumer News and Business Channel" dropped, the network's business programming was at first branded "CNBC/FNN," although this was phased out before the mid-1990s.

Under Rogers' leadership, CNBC began to grow during the 1990s, launching Asian and European versions of the channel in 1995 and 1996 respectively. In 1997, CNBC formed a strategic alliance with Dow Jones, including content sharing with Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal and the rebranding of the channel as "a service of NBC and Dow Jones". CNBC's international channels were then merged into a 50-50 joint venture with their Dow Jones-owned rivals, London-based EBN (European Business News) and Singapore-sited ABN (Asia Business News) in 1998, while ratings grew on the U.S. channel until the new millennium's dot-com bubble burst in 2000.

The new millennium also brought changes to the network, moving its world headquarters from Fort Lee to Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey in 2003, which features completely digital video production and studios made by PDG Ltd of Beeston, Nottinghamshire and the FX Group of Ocoee, Florida.

NBC Universal reacquired full control of loss-making CNBC Europe and CNBC Asia from Dow Jones at the end of 2005. The licensing agreement between Dow and CNBC U.S. remained intact, however.

Today, CNBC provides business news programming from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk shows, investigative reports, documentaries, infomercials, and other programs during the evening and early morning. A rolling ticker provides real-time updates on share prices on the NYSE, NASDAQ, and AMEX, as well as market indices, news summaries, and weather updates by NBC Meteorologists (prior to March 27, 2006, all of CNBC's weather reports were provided by AccuWeather). A rotating top band of the screen rotates provides real-time updates on index and commodity prices from world markets.

CNBC is the only NBC network whose abbreviation, while containing NBC, stands for another name: the Consumer News and Business Channel. The moniker was simply shortened to CNBC when the former was dropped.

Programming

Present shows

CNBC provides a variety of programs throughout the business day presenting reports on U.S. businesses, updates of stock market indices and commodities prices, interviews with CEOs and business leaders, and commentary from many investment professionals. The following is the usual "business day" (term used by CNBC hosts and announcers) lineup (as of February 26, 2009 all times Eastern):

{| class=wikitable |- ! width=55 | ET || width=100 | Program || Hosts || Description |- |

4a-6a || ''Worldwide Exchange'' || Nicole Lapin, Ross Westgate, Christine Tan || first word on movements on futures exchanges and trading in Europe and Asia |- | 6a-9a || ''Squawk Box'' || Joe Kernen, Rebecca Quick, Andrew Ross Sorkin|| provides a mix of business news and commentary |- | 9a-11a || ''Squawk on the Street'' || Carl Quintanilla, Melissa Lee, Simon Hobbs (live from NYSE), David Faber, Jim Cramer || broadcasts live from above the New York Stock Exchange trading floor |- | 11a-12p || ''The Call'' || Larry Kudlow, Melissa Francis || focuses on real-time market coverage |- | 12p-12:30p || ''The Strategy Session'' || David Faber, Gary Kaminsky || in-depth perspective on financial issues |- | 12:30p-1p || ''Fast Money Halftime Report'' || Scott Wapner || fast-paced review of stocks for short-term trades at the mid-point of the trading day |- | 1p-2p || ''Power Lunch'' || Tyler Mathisen, Sue Herera, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, || examines the companies, people, and trends influencing Wall Street, plus real-time market coverage at the midway point of the trading day |- | 2p-3p || ''Street Signs'' || Amanda Drury, Brian Sullivan || focuses on trends, world events affecting stock markets, and real-time market coverage |- | 3p-5p || ''Closing Bell'' || Maria Bartiromo, Bill Griffeth (for the 3-4pm hour) || covers the close of the trading day and real-time market coverage |- | 5p-6p || ''Fast Money'' || Melissa Lee (host), Pete Najarian, Guy Adami, Tim Seymour, Karen Finerman (panelists)|| fast-paced roundtable discussion of stocks for short-term trades |- | 6p-7p || ''Mad Money'' || Jim Cramer || a fast-paced show offering stock advice to callers, interviews with guest CEOs, and discussions on the technical details of the stock market. |- | 7p-8p || ''The Kudlow Report'' || Lawrence Kudlow || provides market, economic and political commentary and interviews |- | 8p-11p || ''CNBC Specials'' || various anchors || special business documentaries and reality television programs |- |}

Since 17 September 2007 the network has also run hourly ''CNBC.com News Now'' update segments during business day programming. These short bulletins, which are around 30 seconds in length (similar to ESPN's ''SportsCenter Right Now''), air before the start of the network's programs from ''Squawk on the Street'' through ''The Kudlow Report''.

CNBC has experimented with non-business programming during primetime hours with a mixed record of success, including a talk show hosted by Dennis Miller. The channel has at times rebroadcast several NBC programs, including ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', ''Deal or No Deal'', ''The Apprentice'', ''The Apprentice: Martha Stewart'', and ''1 vs. 100''. CNBC's current primetime lineup features ''The Big Idea With Donny Deutsch'', re-airs of NBC programs ''The Apprentice'', ''Deal or No Deal'' and ''1 vs. 100'', along with its own documentaries and talk shows including ''Mike on America'', ''American Greed'' and ''Conversations with Michael Eisner''. Prior to 20 April 2006, programs in primetime hours were shown with a 'scroll' featuring news headlines and weather updates at the bottom of the screen.

Infomercials are typically aired from 2 am to 4 am ET and throughout most of the day at the weekend. Since the September–October 2008 financial crisis, the network has begun to place a ''paid programming'' bug on the top right corner of the screen during all airings of infomercials.

On January 24, 2007, the network launched a long-anticipated monthly newsmagazine called ''Business Nation'', which is anchored by award-winning journalist David Faber. Each edition of the program covers three stories; a mixture of profiles, investigative pieces and features. The format of the show is structured similarly to HBO's ''Real Sports''.

CNBC's breakout hit among its original series is ''Mad Money''. Hosted by money manager Jim Cramer, the hour-long show gives stock advice to viewers who call to the program. The show also has a popular segment called "The Lightning Round". In August 2007, Cramer's on-air tirade about the weakening economy, which was seen during the "Stop Trading" segment on ''Street Signs'', received national attention and helped galvanize widespread support for the Federal Reserve Board to cut interest rates.

Other special or weekend programming includes ''CNBC on Assignment'' (for example, ''The Age of Wal-Mart''), ''Cover to Cover'', ''The Suze Orman Show'', ''On the Money'', ''The Wall Street Journal Report with Maria Bartiromo''. CNBC Originals have included ''Marijuana Inc: Inside America’s Pot Industry'', ''Trash Inc: The Secret Life of Garbage'', and ''Supermarkets Inc: Inside a $500 Billion Money Machine''.

In May 2010, CNBC announced that it would be adding business and financial-themed movies to its Friday night lineup under the name "CNBC Cinema."

Past shows

Among the shows that have been canceled are:

Weekdays

Weekly, weekend and other programming

''National Geographic Explorer'' (moved to MSNBC and then to the National Geographic Channel)

''Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street'' (ended its run on New Year's Eve 2004 at Louis Rukeyser's request)

''Market Week with Maria Bartiromo'' (renamed ''After Hours with Maria Bartiromo'' and then ''Special Report with Maria Bartiromo'' -- cancelled in 2004)

''Tim Russert'' (moved to MSNBC)

American Le Mans Series races (inaugural 1999 season only, as part of agreement with NBC Sports)

PGA Champions Tour

Personalities and coverage

Much of CNBC's on-air talent has been with the network for some time: Sue Herera and Scott Cohn joined CNBC at its inception, and remain on the air co-hosting ''Power Lunch'' and as senior correspondent respectively. Some personalities who joined CNBC from FNN in 1991, such as Ron Insana, Bill Griffeth and Joe Kernen, are also still with the channel. The network has of late sought to increase the profile of its on-air team with the launch of rival business station Fox Business Network - although CNBC's best known personality, ''Closing Bell'' host Maria Bartiromo, has for some time made regular appearances on other NBC News broadcasts such as ''The Today Show'' and has anchored the syndicated ''Wall Street Journal Report'', other CNBC hosts such as Jim Cramer and Erin Burnett have also been used increasingly across NBC's output.

In addition to its roster of program anchors, CNBC employs a team of reporters who contribute across the network's business day programming, the majority of whom are based at CNBC's global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs. In addition, CNBC has staff permanently based at bureaus in Midtown Manhattan, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and San Jose (the latter referred to on air as "CNBC Silicon Valley"). Cost-cutting at NBC Universal's news divisions has seen some of these offices merged with those of NBC owned-and-operated stations: the Silicon Valley facility was moved from Palo Alto to the KNTV (NBC 11) newsroom in San Jose in January 2007 (occasionally KNTV reporters Scott Budman and Scott McGrew will now correspond for CNBC), while the Chicago bureau now shares a home with WMAQ (NBC 5). The network also has reporters posted at the New York Stock Exchange (where CNBC also has a set used for broadcasting ''Squawk on the Street'', ''The Call'' and ''Closing Bell''), NASDAQ MarketSite, NYMEX and the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange each day.

Ratings

There is a fairly clear long-term correlation between the performance of global stock markets and the audience ratings of CNBC. The network had a difficult time attracting viewers in the first half of the decade, but has seen viewership increase from a 2005 bottom to record highs in 2008, coinciding with the subprime mortgage crisis. CNBC continues to possess the wealthiest audience (in terms of average income) of any television channel in the United States.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, CNBC's ratings were increasing sharply along with the stock market, often beating those of CNN during market hours. In 2000, daytime viewership of the network peaked at 343,000, around the time the Nasdaq Composite crossed 5000. However, when the dot-com bubble began to burst later that year, CNBC's viewing figures declined in tandem. The network's ratings steadily fell quarter after quarter, year after year, until bottoming in Q1 2005, with an average viewership of 134,000 during the day. From the bottom, the network, along with the markets, rebounded significantly—average daytime viewership (6 am to 6 pm) reached a 7-year high of 310,000 viewers in the first quarter of 2008. Coinciding with the extreme market volatility of the ongoing global economic crisis, ratings hit an all time high of 416,000 in Q3. Although the figures remain considerably less than those achieved by Fox News and CNN today, it has still had a 210% increase in viewership since the beginning of 2005. Despite the viewership slump at the turn of the decade, CNBC has remained extremely profitable: average annual revenues top $510 million while profits for the network exceeded $333 million in 2007, making CNBC a cash cow for NBC Universal and its parent company, General Electric. CNBC is the second most profitable of NBC Universal's thirteen cable channels in the United States, behind only the USA Network.

The network often sees large spikes in viewership on days of major market moves. In the week of 27 February 2007, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average had its seventh-largest loss ever, CNBC's continuing coverage of events resulted in its best ratings week since the market crash after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, with ''Kudlow & Company'', ''Mad Money'', and ''Fast Money'' recording their best ratings ever in the coveted 25-54 demographic. When the financial crisis wraecked havoc in the worldwide equity markets, CNBC recorded some of the highest ratings in the network's two-decade history. For the week ended September 19, 2008, the network averaged 502,000 viewers during the "business day" (defined by the network as 5 am to 7 pm). During this week, ''Squawk Box'', ''Closing Bell'', ''Fast Money'', ''Mad Money'' and ''Kudlow & Company'' recorded their best viewership figures ever. On September 29, 2008, when the markets faced their worst single session performance since the crash of 1987, CNBC saw its best ratings day ever, with an average 726,000 viewers tuning into the network during the business day.

While daytime viewership has rebounded from its 2005 lows, primetime ratings remain weak relative to those of other news networks and CNBC continues to try and rejuvenate its evening lineup. Along with developing new program formats such as ''Fast Money'' and ''Mad Money'', the network operates a "checkerboard" programming approach, airing various genres of shows including documentaries, town-hall style discussions and repeats of some NBC output.

When discussing the network's ratings, CNBC management and press releases regularly suggest that considerable viewership, particularly during the daytime, is done "out of home" in places such as offices and hotel rooms. As this demographic is not covered by Nielsen ratings, CNBC claims that the network's true viewership is considerably higher than what is measured.

On-air presentation

Graphics

CNBC is well known today for its flashy and ostentatious graphics package, complete with accompanying animations and animation-sounds. Previous graphics packages put together by the network since the early 1990s have gradually increased the "wow" factor—likely in order to catch a casual viewer's eye, as cable news competition has increased dramatically since the network was launched in the late 1980s.

thumb|210px|left|The countdown clock used on CNBC's ''Closing Bell'' since 2007-07-27 On 15 November 2006, CNBC's 'crystal' gray logo bug was changed to color revealing the rainbow's peacock's normal NBC colors. On 2006-11-28, the new smaller CNBC color bug (similar to the one used in the revamped ticker) began to show up on CNBC's non-business related primetime programming (where the ticker is not shown, except ''Mad Money'' and ''Fast Money''), replacing the much bigger 'crystal' bug.

On 1 March 2007, CNBC's ''Squawk on the Street'' and ''Closing Bell'' both started using a new countdown clock (shown in minutes:seconds:tenths-of-a-second format) on the graphics' lower-third of the screen. On 27 July 2007, it moved to the lower right of the screen, where the CNBC color bug is usually seen. The countdown clock is used for the "Opening Bell Countdown" segment on ''Squawk on the Street'', and for the "Closing Countdown" segment on ''Closing Bell'', along with presidential debates, the announcement of some monthly consumer indexes, and Federal Reserve Bank interest rate changes.

On 2 May 2007, CNBC's ''Mad Money'' revamped its own on-air graphics package, replacing what was used—including its opening animation sequence—since the program's 14 March 2005 debut.

In November 2007, the CNBC color bug in the ticker on the lower right of the screen started rotating (and morphing) between the network logo and the CNBC.com logo and back. This is seen only during the network's "Business Day" programming.

CNBC began using the "CNBC 20" logo on January 1, 2009 on all of its programs to promote the network's 20-year anniversary. The "CNBC 20" logo was in use all throughout 2009.

First generation graphic

Used from 17 April 1989 to 31 December 1994. The bottom band of the ticker displayed various indices (such as the ''Value Line Arithmetic Index'', shown). The network did not have a live bug tracking the various indices, nor did it have its logo fixed on the creen. Instead, camera shots of the anchors at the main desk were positioned in a way to show the "CNBC" lettering at all possible times.

The studio in the picture, right, is located in the original Fort Lee, New Jersey building. This was later completely rebuilt as part of changes introduced by the network's then president Roger Ailes.

1995 revamp

Used from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 1997.

1998 revamp

This was used from January 1998 to May 1999. Majority of the lower-thirds and the live bug was coloured blue with the left side of the lower thirds and upper part of the live bug coloured red. The background for its charts was animated with majority of the background being blue and a narrow green strip running at the right side of the screen resembling a stock ticker. When the major maker indexes hit a new record, the green strip is tweaked to reflect "DOW RECORD", "S&P; RECORD" or "NASDAQ RECORD." It is also tweaked during the holiday season. (Note: The image rightward doesn't contain the ticker part.)

1999 revamp: "Red" turns "Green"

The 1998 graphics scheme was slightly tweaked in May 1999 where the once red parts of the lower thirds (seen on the left of the blue strip of the lower thirds) and the "LIVE" bug's upper part turned green. The font was also modified. The green strip at this time is also tweaked during earnings season. Graphs also started having the CNBC logo was behind them and included grids. On 3 April 2000, CNBC Asia has used this scheme only for its charts but a month later CNBC Europe used it for its charts and lower thirds as well. This package was in place until 29 September 2000 on CNBC, until 31 December 2000 on CNBC Asia and until mid-January 2001 on CNBC Europe. Show titles, however, remained the same as the 1998 package.

2000 revamp

Used from 2 October 2000 to 13 September 2002. In January 2001, CNBC Asia and CNBC Europe both followed up to use the same graphic package, making some changes to the lower thirds and the charts respectively (for example, removing the animation on and off screen). This marked the first time that the three main CNBC channels had used the same graphics scheme in their entirety for all daytime shows. In February 2002, however, while most programme titles largely remained the same on the CNBC US channel, two new shows, ''Morning Call'' and ''Closing Bell'' used the titles which were originally for ''Street Signs'' and ''Market Watch'' respectively (the latter two were cancelled at the same period as well).

2002 revamp

Used from 16 September 2002 to 10 October 2003. This package saw an evolution of the graphics introduced in 2000, with program titles and chart formats remaining the same. The lower thirds were, however, completely revamped with the lower half of it coloured red and text was centre-justified, and a new background animation and colour scheme was introduced for charts and other on-screen data. The font was also tweaked. The titles in the lower thirds were centre-justified. CNBC Asia used a similar lower thirds effective 2 January 2003 except that the lower thirds was entirely light blue and the text was still aligned to the left. CNBC Europe adopted the same chart backgrounds in use by CNBC US later in 2003 as well but used a different lower-thirds.

2003 revamp

Used from 13 October 2003 to 16 December 2005. In this revamp, CNBC added an independent space to the lower thirds to show the "topic title" to indicate the subject being discussed (i.e., "money to burn" in the rightward photo). This formerly shared space with the program logo on the left-hand side of the lower thirds.

CNBC also added another animation to the lower thirds: when showing stock charts, the lower thirds would move down vertically, keeping just the "topic title" visible above the ticker. When charts were removed from the screen, the whole lower thirds would move vertically up again.

The "LIVE" sign was also moved from the left-top corner to the right-top corner, along with the location (which was formerly included on the lower thirds) at this time.

CNBC Asia adopted this graphics scheme in 2004 but on CNBC Europe's next graphics revamp in the same year, it chose to create its own graphics scheme for charts, lower-thirds and titles.

December 2005 revamp: from 2D to 3D

Used from 19 December 2005 to 12 May 2006. On 19 December 2005, CNBC unveiled a new on-air look, replacing that which had been used since October 2003. This included a new look for all the graphics, new logos for all business day programs, and the relocation of the index and commodity prices from the stacked bug in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen to the bug bar across the top of the screen.

Since then, the ticker has shown full company names (and full commodity names used in the commodity summary, which runs at the 1s of each hour) instead of just ticker symbols.

The "LIVE" and location graphics were moved back to the top-left of the screen from the top-right corner at this time.

This graphic package was created by Randy Pyburn of Pyburn Films (that also designed the WNBC's 2003 graphic package, KYW-TV's 2004 package & WPSG's 2005 package) and also designed earlier CNBC graphic packages. The estimated cost of the 2005-2006 package was about $2 million.

Mid-2006: revamped bug and lower thirds

On 15 May 2006, CNBC made a slight change to its lower thirds, adding a blue block to the right-hand side. Occasionally this space was used to display the title of the topic being discussed. This format was abandoned on 18 December 2006.

On 6 September 2006, CNBC unveiled a revamped bug, which now has a similar resemblance to that of CNBC Europe. On the same day, the network launched a slightly modified ticker with a narrower font (to allow more quotes to stream by within a period of time). CNBC Asia adopted a revamped bug of its own on 26 March 2007 as part of its graphics package revamp.

December 2006: new lower thirds

Used from 19 December 2006 to 26 February 2010. On 19 December 2006, exactly one year after its relaunch, CNBC revamped its on-air graphics package, replacing the old lower thirds that were previously used from 19 December 2005-18 December 2006. The current graphic package was created in-house.

In this revamp, CNBC cancelled the independent space for the "topic title", which once again shares space with the program logo on the left-hand side of the lower thirds.

CNBC Asia adopted the similar lower thirds on 26 March 2007, but unlike its US version, the "topic title" does not share the space with the program logo. Its European sibling (CNBC Europe) finally debuted its own lower thirds on 7 January 2008, and like its US version, the "topic title" shares space with the program logo on the left-hand side.

On 23 April 2007, the data bug was slightly tweaked, with the titles of the securities now displayed in yellow and the numbers still being displayed in white.

On 26 July 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 300 points, CNBC stayed on the story and put a live shot of the trading board in the NYSE to show the status of Dow above the lower thirds during the ''Closing Bell'' to track the markets.

* (Note: The screenshot rightward comes from CNBC Asia, so the style of the top bug and the ticker are different from the package of CNBC US.)

On 28 February 2008, the chart was slightly tweaked, when showing session is more than two days, CNBC put up the % of the session performance, just like CNBC Europe.

March 2010 revamp: almost back to 2D

On March 1, 2010, CNBC debuted a whole new graphics scheme across most of its networks, including its U.S. HD+ feed. This replaced the previous graphics package which had been used since 19 December 2005 and the lower thirds that were used since 19 December 2006. The data bug now shows the securities in white and the numbers in green (indicating up) or red (indicating down), along with triangles (green for higher and red for lower).

Ticker

The CNBC Ticker is a computer simulation of ticker tape shown on the lower part of the screen during the network's live business programming, containing security and index symbols along with movements in their value. At the top of the screen, a rotating band, partitioned into three segments, provides index and commodity prices.

History

When CNBC first aired in 1989 until approximately 1991, the original CNBC Ticker only had one band, displaying NYSE stocks. After a 20 minute period when the ticker was off-air one day, as announced by anchor Ted David, did CNBC finally decide to include the NASDAQ in a new format at the time, creating the two-band system used ever since. FNN did use a two-line ticker design (with white and blue bands, quotes listed during trading without price changes and a market summary on the bottom band during trading) prior to the merger with CNBC in 1991, and many of these features were subsequently adopted by the newly merged channel. Here's an example of FNN ticker circa 1987.

CNBC had another ticker format, mainly a font variation on the ticker, for a short time before the 1995-1997 photo on this page. During special events (for example, the Dow Jones Industrial Average passing 6000, 7000, etc. or another extremely impactful market event), the CNBC Ticker showed mutual funds on the NYSE band while leaving the NASDAQ band unchanged. This convention has been discontinued. In 1998, CNBC's ticker became more colourful with green indicating a stock price increase and red indicating a stock price decrease. The ticker now shows full company names (and full commodity names used in the Commodity Summary, which runs at the 1s of each hour) instead of just the ticker symbols, as seen before December 2005 but only the arrows remain coloured green or red.

Current graphic formats

The bug bar, at the top of the screen, which stays on-screen during the business day (4 am ET to 6 pm ET), will give viewers a real-time snapshot of the general stock market (Dow Jones, Nasdaq S&P; 500 indices and Russell 2000 index, along with the DJ Utilities, DJ Transports and NYSE indices), international markets and futures (between 4 am ET and 9:30 am ET only), currencies, bond prices/yields and commodities. The stock market indices, global markets, currencies, bonds, yields, and commodities are displayed in yellow, with the numbers displayed in white. This data stays on for 5–7 seconds, before refreshing to the new set of data.

The bottom two lines, called the ticker, gives viewers real-time NYSE quotes (on the top band) and Nasdaq/AMEX quotes (bottom band) throughout the trading day (ticker symbols are 1, 2, or 3 letters long for the NYSE stocks; Nasdaq uses 4- and 5-letter symbols; 3-letter ticker symbols are used at the AMEX). A commodity summary is shown on the top band (every 10 minutes at 0:01, 0:11, 0:21, 0:31, 0:41, 0:51 past the hour), along with a market summary (which is shown every 20 minutes at 0:01, 0:21, 0:41 past the hour). A Nasdaq/AMEX market summary is shown on the bottom band every 20 minutes at 0:06, 0:26, 0:46 past the hour. The bottom ticker formerly showed a market summary at 0:16, 0:36, 0:56 past the hour but, it no longer does. The ticker now also provides the size of each trade (the volume, or number of shares traded), a feature which was reinstated on July 12, 2006 after it was dumped during the re-launch in December 2005.

Also, PowerShares ETF symbols, which are traded along the lower band of the ticker, are highlighted in orange for sponsorship reasons.

Before and after-market hours (8:00 am ET - 9:30 am ET and 4:00 pm ET - 6:30 pm ET respectively), the ticker gives viewers extended hours trading quotes (after-hours quotes are symbolized with gold text). Between the hours of 5:00 am ET - 8:00 am ET and 6:30 pm ET - 8:00 pm ET, viewers are shown an alphabetical recap of the closing prices of S&P; 500 stocks on the top band, while latest news headlines as well as weather projections for selected cities are displayed on the bottom band.

Above the ticker, the left-hand side graphic will provides the logo for the specific program that is currently on-air (i.e., "Morning Call"). The middle block gives viewers either a caption of the topic being discussed (i.e., "Mike Huckman") or information about the correspondent on the screen. Additionally, the left block is also replaced by logos indicating general subjects (i.e., "Behind the Wheel",) or the network's "Breaking News" (gold on red), "CNBC Alert" (green), "CNBC Market Alert" (black on gold) or "CNBC Exclusive" (orange) logo when required.

Taglines

"A Service of NBCUniversal and Dow Jones" (17 May 2004 - 31 December 2005, 2007–present)

"Fast, Accurate, Actionable, Unbiased" (2007–present)

"America's Business Channel" (2005 or earlier - 2008)

"First in Business Worldwide" (12 June 2006–present)

"The World Leader in Business News" (2004 - 11 June 2006)

"Make It Your Business" (2002–2004)

"Business for the New World" (2002)

"Profit From It" (1998–2002)

"First in Business, Worldwide" (1996–97)

"First in Business, First in Talk" (1995)

"Information that hits home." (1992–95)

Music

The music used from October 2003 to December 2005 was produced by 615 Music of Nashville, Tennessee. This music (though only edited versions of the arrangements for Street Signs and Closing Bell) continues as of February 2009 to be used by CNBC Europe, although CNBC Asia ceased using it in March 2007. CNBC Europe continued also to use "CNBC Anthem" a.k.a. "Bold & Grand", which was composed by Edd Kalehoff and used by CNBC US between 2000–2002. For its main channel ident used until a relaunch on 30 September 2008, the anthem was remixed, adding the NBC chimes to the music. However, it is still used for its "Europe Update" segments during US programming. The current music package is composed by James Ryan of Rampage Music New York, a company that has also created music for co-owned WNBC, also in New York. Ryan also composed the network's 2002 music package. Willie Wilcox composed the themes for ''The Big Idea'', ''Mad Money'', ''Conversations with Michael Eisner'' and currently ''Fast Money''.

Logos

From 1989 to 1997, CNBC's logo used the letters ''CNBC'' above a swoosh. In 1997, CNBC adopted NBC's peacock logo.

Announcer

CNBC's main voice-over announcer is Jim Birdsall, who also works for NFL Films, and is heard as the voice in commercials for CiCi's Pizza. Also, Brian Lee is used for certain promos for certain shows.

Partnerships

Dow Jones & Company

Since December 1997, the network has held a strategic alliance with the publishing and financial information firm Dow Jones & Company. Under the agreement, CNBC has extensive access to the journalism of such outlets as MarketWatch, ''The Wall Street Journal'', Dow Jones Newswires and ''Barron's'', with their reporters and editorial staff making frequent appearances on the channel. Some former CNBC programs have included Dow Jones branding, while the network currently produces and syndicates the weekly ''Wall Street Journal Report'' with Maria Bartiromo. CNBC's current deal with Dow Jones expires in 2012, and its continuation has been the subject of some uncertainty following the 2007 acquisition of Dow by News Corporation, parent company of rival financial network Fox Business, which had been started just two months prior and whose resources have been used to build up Fox Business. News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch has stated that the current agreement "covers actual news and access to reporters on ''business'' news" only, and that Fox and Dow Jones are free to cooperate on other issues.

Other content partnerships

CNBC has also held a content deal with ''The New York Times'' since January 2008, which has widely been seen as an attempt by both parties to take on increased competition from News Corporation. Under the agreement, CNBC has access to the business coverage of the ''Times'', while video from CNBC.com is featured on the ''Times''' website. The station's video clips and other content are also distributed through Yahoo! Finance and, as of May 2008, AOL Money & Finance.

The network's live market prices, economic data and other statistics are largely provided by Thomson Reuters (Reuters and Thomson Financial prior to their 2008 merger). Since September 2006 CNBC has operated its own stock market index in conjunction with London's FTSE Group. The FTSE CNBC Global 300 includes the fifteen largest companies from each of the sectors of the Industry Classification Benchmark as well as the thirty largest companies from emerging markets. Calculated continuously from 9 pm through to 4:10 pm ET each trading day, the index is referenced throughout the network's live programming, particularly on ''Worldwide Exchange''.

The channel also maintains the "CNBC Investor Network", a series of webcam connections to the trading rooms of various independent financial institutions across the United States. The scheme was launched on 22 October 2007 and allows participating traders and strategists to appear on the network during the business day.

On December 14, 2010, CNBC and CarryQuote announced a development and marketing collaboration that resulted in the release of CNBC PRO, a mobile and desktop financial application for individual investors. CNBC PRO provides its subscribers with real-time financial data from more than 100 stock exchanges worldwide, plus CNBC news and streaming video.

International channels

CNBC has operated international versions of its channel since 1995, when CNBC Asia originally launched. CNBC Europe followed in 1996. On 9 December 1997, Dow Jones & Company and NBC announced the merger of their international business news channels. This resulted in a merger of CNBC Europe with Dow Jones' European Business News, and likewise of CNBC Asia with Asia Business News. From then (until January 2006) the international CNBC services carried the tagline "A Service of NBC (Universal) and Dow Jones" (or depending on other local partners, a variation of this tagline). Correspondents from Dow Jones Newswires contribute to the channels. CNBC Europe is headquartered in London, and CNBC Asia is headquartered in Singapore. On 31 December 2005, the sale by Dow Jones of its interests in the international CNBC channels took effect. From 1 January 2006, the "A Service of NBC Universal and Dow Jones" tagline was removed from the international CNBC channels, in line with this. In 2007, CNBC Asia dropped the word "Asia" from its channel idents, on 30 September 2008, CNBC Europe similarly dropped the word "Europe" from its logo. This means the big three CNBC channels - US, Europe, and Asia - are all on-screen known as simply CNBC.

Besides CNBC Europe and CNBC Asia, the network also operates a number of local business news channels in association with other companies. These channels include Class CNBC in Italy, CNBC-e in Turkey, CNBC Arabiya in the UAE, Nikkei CNBC in Japan, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz in India, CNBC Pakistan in Pakistan and TVN CNBC in Poland.

CNBC Europe and CNBC Asia are rebranded in some parts of the world with tickers containing local financial information. Examples include CNBC Nordic, CNBC Singapore, CNBC Hong Kong and CNBC Australia (CNBC Australia and Singapore also produce five minute updates at 12:55 pm, 5:55 pm and 9:55 pm for free-to-air network, SBS TV). In addition, CNBC Europe airs Strictly Money for UK and Republic of Ireland viewers only.

In North America, CNBC World airs business programming from CNBC Europe and CNBC Asia, as well as weekly magazine programs provided by CNBC-TV18 and the United Nations.

In Central America and the Caribbean, CNBC Latin America retransmits live programs from CNBC and CNBC World.

In Canada, CNBC can be seen with most of the programming identical to the US counterpart. However, due to Canadian programming rights, the 9 pm slot which shows television programming such as ''Deal Or No Deal'', ''The Apprentice'', ''1 vs. 100'' and ''Heads Up Poker'', as well as any and all Olympic Games coverage, are replaced by CNBC World programming. However, documentaries are shown in Canada. This had the making of a major problem, as a highlight episode of ''The Apprentice 5'' that aired April 23, 2006, was assumed to not be available anywhere for Canadians due to these blackouts. While the first airing at 9:00 pm ET was blacked out, the second airing at midnight ET was accidentally shown. Blackouts on episodes that originally air on NBC and Global are likely to continue. However, occasionally, the television shows are shown and are not blacked out, possibly due to a mistake in transmission.

CNBC's most recent international spinoff is CNBC Africa. With roughly $600 million spent on advertising in South Africa alone, the network sees great potential in grabbing a potential share of that pot. Initially, CNBC Africa has bureaus in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa and produces 9 hours of local programming per business day. The network was launched on 2007-06-01.

The launch of the Korean language channel SBS-CNBC in January 2010 will mark the fifteenth CNBC-branded channel worldwide.

CNBC.com

CNBC.com is the companion website to the financial network. It was launched in 1996 with minimal content, other than show program grids, host biographies and basic network images (on the internet, business news then was handled by the website of CNBC's sister channel, MSNBC). The site gradually progressed alongside internet technology, giving investors more useful information such as stock quotes, news bulletins, in-depth programming information and a whole host of other data.

left|thumb|CNBC.com - 1996 In August 2001, CNBC.com merged with MSN's Moneycentral.com, creating "CNBC on MSN." This new partnership allowed the two parties to meet two objectives: #provide richer content to visitors, with expanded news offerings, a wider array of stock tools (including interactive charting, free online portfolio managers) plus more in-depth market coverage and # more effectively compete with other finance related websites, such as Marketwatch.com and Yahoo! Finance.

During this period the editorial content on the CNBC.com site was controlled by Microsoft Corporation. CNBC.com officially ended its relationship with MSN in mid-November 2006.

CNBC.com was relaunched on 4 December 2006. The website provides new online tools for investors and better integration of the website with daytime programming. Some of the new features include:

exclusive online interviews (the first being with Chicago Fed President Michael Moskow)

live market updates from CNBC personalities three times per day during the trading day (discontinuing the "Market in a Minute" updates in June 2007)

a streaming desktop ticker, real-time data and the network's "tick-by-tick" charts (for major indices)

themed blogs by various correspondents (i.e., "Tech Check" with tech reporter Jim Goldman)

unedited, full-length interviews from CNBC specials or other on-air interviews

free video of recent on-air segments, interviews, features etc.

an exclusive "CNBC.com" set built at CNBC's U.S. headquarters where the market update segments (among other things) are taped from

blogging from on-air personalities about the various "goings-on" within the network

an original show to air exclusively online with Maria Bartiromo, Bill Griffeth and Joe Kernen (yet to debut)

top-of-the-hour summary of business news entitled ''CNBC.com News Now'' which is also seen during the trading day on CNBC TV.

Content on the new website is edited 24 hours a day during the business week. CNBC U.S. updates the content from 6 am to 7 pm ET, CNBC Asia then takes over from 7 p.m to 2 am, and CNBC Europe handles the (North American) overnight hours from 2 am to 6 am.

In April 2007, the site was able to attract 662,000 unique visitors to the website, ranking it #22 amongst all financial news websites.

CNBCplus

"CNBCplus" was a subscription-based service (similar to the now-defunct CNN Pipeline) which allowed users to have 24-hour, commercial-free access to three individual CNBC feeds—CNBC U.S., CNBC Europe and CNBC Asia—along with access to an archive of over 100,000 VOD clips, updated with up to 200 clips daily. It also offered a search feature allowing the user to find video clips using keywords. The service is available to PC Windows users running Internet Explorer 6.x or 7.x. The CNBC U.S. stream offered most television broadcast programming, including the popular shows, ''Mad Money'' and ''Fast Money''.

Since its inception, the service offered a free seven-day trial for people who register. After that, individuals who registered would be required to pay a monthly fee to continue their subscription. The 'introductory offer' was $9.95 per month, although the fee eventually went up to $14.95/month.

As of March 2008, CNBCplus had signed up 15,000 regular subscribers to its service.

In December 2010, CNBC migrated its 16,000 users of CNBCplus to CNBC PRO.

CNBC PRO

On December 14, 2010, CNBC and CarryQuote announced a development and marketing collaboration that resulted in the release of CNBC PRO, a mobile and desktop financial application for individual investors.

CNBC PRO provides its subscribers with real-time financial data from more than 100 stock exchanges worldwide, plus CNBC news and streaming video. For the introductory price of $24.99 per month, or $269 per year, a user can access this information from his or her computer or BlackBerry, with access from iPhone, iPad, and Android to follow in 2011.

In December 2010, CNBC migrated its 16,000 users of CNBCplus to CNBC PRO.

High definition

CNBC HD+, a 1080i high-definition enhanced simulcast of CNBC, was launched on October 10, 2007. The channel uses a modified screen format during trading day programming, which shifts the existing 4:3 feed to the left of the screen to add a sidebar on the right side of the screen, containing additional market statistics and a window showing video content from CNBC.com (whose audio is carried on SAP). Primetime programming is showed in full-screen 16:9 and usually produced in HD.

DirecTV was the first provider to add CNBC HD+, with other providers soon following.

Airport "stores" or "bureaus"

CNBC holds stores (can be called bureaus) called "CNBC News" in many airports across the USA. Since 2001, CNBC has been in a licensing arrangement with The Paradies Shops to open these stores, which sell limited CNBC merchandise, along with newspapers, magazines and a small selection of snacks and drinks. Locations include:

Criticism

CNBC has been criticized for allegedly amplifying bull and bear markets, particularly in the run-up to the Dot-com bubble and the subprime crisis. In response to these criticisms, CNBC anchors have pointed to the size of the market and noted that influencing it is "a little out of our reach." Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show'' has been a vocal critic of CNBC and some of its personalities, beginning after comments were made by Rick Santelli. Despite the lack of direct comments by the network, several personalities have defended their predictions and comments. CNBC was accused by the Obama administration of "cable chatter" -- the excessant and sometimes brutal discussion on a particular topic, often one-sided. James Cramer's stock picks on his CNBC show ''Mad Money'' were found by ''Barron's'' magazine in 2007 to have underperformed the S&P; 500 stock index over the previous two years. ''Barron's'' stated that "his picks haven't beaten the market. Over the past two years, viewers holding Cramer's stocks would be up 12% while the Dow rose 22% and the S&P; 500 16%." CNBC disputed the magazine's findings.

Tea Party movement (2009)

In what was described by CNBC as a "rant" delivered from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CNBC correspondent Rick Santelli reinvented the term "tea party", and a national protest movement, known as the Tea Party movement, followed amid much media attention."

See also

Bloomberg Television

Fox Business Network

List of DirecTV channels

List of Dish Network channels in the United States

References

;Notes

External links

cnbc.com, CNBC's official website (United States)

NBC Cable Networks - NBCCableinfo.com - CNBC

CNBC page at MSNBC.com

CNBC Video at MSN Money

CNBC weekly U.S. TV Schedule

CNBC Anchors and Reporters (scroll down page for list)

Photos of the New Jersey CNBC facility

DeBartolo, Anthony HydeparkMedia.com "CNBC: Viewer Discretion Advised" ''Chicago Reader'' article

CNBC PRO

Theme songs used on CNBC shows (past and present)

Category:24-hour television news channels in the United States Category:Business-related television channels Category:CNBC Category:CNBC global channels Category:Digital only radio stations Category:DuPont-Columbia Award recipients Category:English-language television stations in the United States Category:NBC Universal networks Category:Orphan initialisms Category:Sirius Satellite Radio channels Category:Stock market Category:Television channels and stations established in 1989 Category:Television stations in New Jersey Category:U.S. Route 9W Category:XM Satellite Radio channels

de:CNBC es:CNBC fr:CNBC id:CNBC he:CNBC ms:CNBC nl:CNBC (televisiebedrijf) ja:CNBC no:CNBC pl:CNBC pt:CNBC fi:CNBC sv:CNBC th:ซีเอ็นบีซี tr:CNBC yi:CNBC zh:CNBC

name	Steve Jobs
birth name	Steven Paul Jobs
birth date	February 24, 1955
birth place
death date	October 05, 2011
death place
occupation	Chairman, Apple Inc.
Boards	The Walt Disney Company, Apple, Inc.
alma mater	Reed College (one semester in 1972)
networth	$8.3 billion (2011)
religion	Buddhism
spouse	Laurene Powell Jobs(m. 1991–2011; his death)
children	4
signature	Firma de Steve Jobs.svg
relatives	Mona Simpson (sister)
website	}}

Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American computer entrepreneur and inventor. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Jobs also previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney. He was credited in ''Toy Story'' (1995) as an executive producer.

In the late 1970s, Jobs, with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula, and others, designed, developed, and marketed one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series. In the early 1980s, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of Xerox PARC's mouse-driven graphical user interface, which led to the creation of the Macintosh. After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher-education and business markets. Apple's subsequent 1996 buyout of NeXT brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded, and he served as its CEO from 1997 until 2011.

In 1986, he acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd which was spun off as Pixar Animation Studios. He remained CEO and majority shareholder at 50.1 percent until its acquisition by The Walt Disney company in 2006. Consequently Jobs became Disney's largest individual shareholder at 7 percent and a member of Disney's Board of Directors.

On August 24, 2011, Jobs announced his resignation from his role as Apple's CEO. In his letter of resignation, Jobs strongly recommended that the Apple executive succession plan be followed and Tim Cook be named as his successor. Per his request, Jobs was appointed chairman of Apple's board of directors. On October 5, 2011, Apple announced that Jobs had died. He was 56 years old. His aim, to develop products that are both functional and elegant, had earned him a devoted following.

Early years

Jobs was born in San Francisco and was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs (née Hagopian) of Mountain View, California. Paul and Clara later adopted a daughter, Patti. Jobs' biological parents – Abdulfattah John Jandali, a Syrian immigrant to the U.S. who later became a political science professor, and Joanne Schieble (later Simpson), an American graduate student who went on to become a speech language pathologist – eventually married. Together, they gave birth to and raised Jobs' biological sister, novelist Mona Simpson.

Jobs attended Cupertino Junior High and Homestead High School in Cupertino, California. He frequented after-school lectures at the Hewlett-Packard Company in Palo Alto, California and was later hired there, working with Steve Wozniak as a summer employee. Following high school graduation in 1972, Jobs enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Although he dropped out after only one semester, he continued auditing classes at Reed, while sleeping on the floor in friends' rooms, returning Coke bottles for food money, and getting weekly free meals at the local Hare Krishna temple. Jobs later said, "If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts."

In autumn 1974, Jobs returned to California and began attending meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club with Wozniak. He took a job as a technician at Atari, a manufacturer of popular video games, with the primary intent of saving money for a spiritual retreat to India.

Jobs then traveled to India to visit the Neem Karoli Baba at his Kainchi Ashram with a Reed College friend (and, later, the first Apple employee), Daniel Kottke, in search of spiritual enlightenment. He came back a Buddhist with his head shaved and wearing traditional Indian clothing. During this time, Jobs experimented with psychedelics, calling his LSD experiences "one of the two or three most important things [he had] done in [his] life". He later said that people around him who did not share his countercultural roots could not fully relate to his thinking.

Jobs returned to his previous job at Atari and was given the task of creating a circuit board for the game ''Breakout''. According to Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, Atari had offered $100 for each chip that was eliminated in the machine. Jobs had little interest or knowledge in circuit board design and made a deal with Wozniak to split the bonus evenly between them if Wozniak could minimize the number of chips. Much to the amazement of Atari, Wozniak reduced the number of chips by 50, a design so tight that it was impossible to reproduce on an assembly line. At the time, Jobs told Wozniak that Atari had only given them $700 (instead of the actual $5,000) and that Wozniak's share was thus $350.

Career

Beginnings of Apple Computer

In 1976, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, with later funding from a then-semi-retired Intel product-marketing manager and engineer A.C. "Mike" Markkula Jr., founded Apple. Prior to co-founding Apple, Wozniak was an electronics hacker. Jobs and Wozniak had been friends for several years, having met in 1971, when their mutual friend, Bill Fernandez, introduced 21-year-old Wozniak to 16-year-old Jobs. Steve Jobs managed to interest Wozniak in assembling a computer and selling it. As Apple continued to expand, the company began looking for an experienced executive to help manage its expansion.

In 1978, Apple recruited Mike Scott from National Semiconductor to serve as CEO for what turned out to be several turbulent years. In 1983, Steve Jobs lured John Sculley away from Pepsi-Cola to serve as Apple's CEO, asking, "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?" The following year, Apple aired a Super Bowl television commercial titled "1984". At Apple's annual shareholders meeting on January 24, 1984, an emotional Jobs introduced the Macintosh to a wildly enthusiastic audience; Andy Hertzfeld described the scene as "pandemonium". The Macintosh became the first commercially successful small computer with a graphical user interface. The development of the Mac was started by Jef Raskin, and eventually taken over by Jobs.

While Jobs was a persuasive and charismatic director for Apple, some of his employees from that time had described him as an erratic and temperamental manager. An industry-wide sales slump towards the end of 1984 caused a deterioration in Jobs's working relationship with Sculley, and at the end of May 1985 – following an internal power struggle and an announcement of significant layoffs because of disappointing sales at the time – Sculley relieved Jobs of his duties as head of the Macintosh division. He later claimed that being fired from Apple was the best thing that could happen to him; "The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life."

NeXT Computer

Around the same time, Jobs founded another computer company, NeXT Computer. Like the Apple Lisa, the NeXT workstation was technologically advanced; however, it was largely dismissed by industry as cost-prohibitive. Among those who could afford it, however, the NeXT workstation garnered a strong following because of its technical strengths, chief among them its object-oriented software development system. Jobs marketed NeXT products to the scientific and academic fields because of the innovative, experimental new technologies it incorporated (such as the Mach kernel, the digital signal processor chip, and the built-in Ethernet port).

The NeXTcube was described by Jobs as an "interpersonal" computer, which he believed was the next step after "personal" computing. That is, if computers could allow people to communicate and collaborate together in an easy way, it would solve many of the problems that "personal" computing had come up against.

During a time when e-mail for most people was plain text, Jobs loved to demo the NeXT's e-mail system, NeXTMail, as an example of his "interpersonal" philosophy. NeXTMail was one of the first to support universally visible, clickable embedded graphics and audio within e-mail.

Jobs ran NeXT with an obsession for aesthetic perfection, as evidenced by such things as the NeXTcube's magnesium case. This put considerable strain on NeXT's hardware division, and in 1993, after having sold only 50,000 machines, NeXT transitioned fully to software development with the release of NeXTSTEP/Intel.

Pixar and Disney

In 1986, Jobs bought The Graphics Group (later renamed Pixar) from Lucasfilm's computer graphics division for the price of $10 million, $5 million of which was given to the company as capital.

The new company, which was originally based at Lucasfilm's Kerner Studios in San Rafael, California, but has since relocated to Emeryville, California, was initially intended to be a high-end graphics hardware developer. After years of unprofitability selling the Pixar Image Computer, it contracted with Disney to produce a number of computer-animated feature films, which Disney would co-finance and distribute.

The first film produced by the partnership, ''Toy Story'', brought fame and critical acclaim to the studio when it was released in 1995. Over the next 15 years, under Pixar's creative chief John Lasseter, the company would produce the box-office hits ''A Bug's Life'' (1998), ''Toy Story 2'' (1999), ''Monsters, Inc.'' (2001), ''Finding Nemo'' (2003), ''The Incredibles'' (2004), ''Cars'' (2006), ''Ratatouille'' (2007), ''WALL-E'' (2008), ''Up'' (2009) and ''Toy Story 3'' (2010). ''Finding Nemo'', ''The Incredibles'', ''Ratatouille'', ''WALL-E'', ''Up'' and ''Toy Story 3'' each received the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, an award introduced in 2001.

In the years 2003 and 2004, as Pixar's contract with Disney was running out, Jobs and Disney chief executive Michael Eisner tried but failed to negotiate a new partnership, and in early 2004 Jobs announced that Pixar would seek a new partner to distribute its films once its contract with Disney expired.

In October 2005, Bob Iger replaced Eisner at Disney, and Iger quickly worked to patch up relations with Jobs and Pixar. On January 24, 2006, Jobs and Iger announced that Disney had agreed to purchase Pixar in an all-stock transaction worth $7.4 billion. Once the deal closed, Jobs became The Walt Disney Company's largest single shareholder with approximately 7% of the company's stock. Jobs's holdings in Disney far exceed those of Eisner, who holds 1.7%, and of Disney family member Roy E. Disney, who until his 2009 death held about 1% of the company's stock and whose criticisms of Eisner – especially that he soured Disney's relationship with Pixar – accelerated Eisner's ousting. Jobs joined the company's board of directors upon completion of the merger. Jobs also helped oversee Disney and Pixar's combined animation businesses with a seat on a special six person steering committee.

Return to Apple

In 1996, Apple announced that it would buy NeXT for $429 million. The deal was finalized in late 1996, bringing Jobs back to the company he had co-founded. Jobs became ''de facto'' chief after then-CEO Gil Amelio was ousted in July. He was formally named interim chief executive in September 1997. In March 1998, to concentrate Apple's efforts on returning to profitability, Jobs terminated a number of projects, such as Newton, Cyberdog, and OpenDoc. In the coming months, many employees developed a fear of encountering Jobs while riding in the elevator, "afraid that they might not have a job when the doors opened. The reality was that Jobs' summary executions were rare, but a handful of victims was enough to terrorize a whole company." Jobs also changed the licensing program for Macintosh clones, making it too costly for the manufacturers to continue making machines.

With the purchase of NeXT, much of the company's technology found its way into Apple products, most notably NeXTSTEP, which evolved into Mac OS X. Under Jobs's guidance the company increased sales significantly with the introduction of the iMac and other new products; since then, appealing designs and powerful branding have worked well for Apple. At the 2000 Macworld Expo, Jobs officially dropped the "interim" modifier from his title at Apple and became permanent CEO. Jobs quipped at the time that he would be using the title 'iCEO.'

The company subsequently branched out, introducing and improving upon other digital appliances. With the introduction of the iPod portable music player, iTunes digital music software, and the iTunes Store, the company made forays into consumer electronics and music distribution. On June 29, 2007, Apple entered the cellular phone business with the introduction of the iPhone, a multi-touch display cell phone, which also included the features of an iPod and, with its own mobile browser, revolutionized the mobile browsing scene. While stimulating innovation, Jobs also reminded his employees that "real artists ship", by which he meant that delivering working products on time is as important as innovation and attractive design.

Jobs was both admired and criticized for his consummate skill at persuasion and salesmanship, which has been dubbed the "reality distortion field" and was particularly evident during his keynote speeches (colloquially known as "Stevenotes") at Macworld Expos and at Apple's own Worldwide Developers Conferences.

In 2005, Jobs responded to criticism of Apple's poor recycling programs for e-waste in the U.S. by lashing out at environmental and other advocates at Apple's Annual Meeting in Cupertino in April. However, a few weeks later, Apple announced it would take back iPods for free at its retail stores. The Computer TakeBack Campaign responded by flying a banner from a plane over the Stanford University graduation at which Jobs was the commencement speaker. The banner read "Steve — Don't be a mini-player recycle all e-waste". In 2006, he further expanded Apple's recycling programs to any U.S. customer who buys a new Mac. This program includes shipping and "environmentally friendly disposal" of their old systems.

Resignation

In August 2011, Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple, but remained at the company as chairman of the company's board. Hours after the announcement, Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares dropped 5% in after-hour trading. The relatively small drop, when considering the importance of Jobs to Apple, was associated with the fact that Jobs' health had been in the news for several years, and he was on medical leave since January 2011. It was believed, according to ''Forbes'', that the impact would be felt in a negative way beyond Apple, including at The Walt Disney Company where Jobs served as director. In after-hour trading on the day of the announcement, Walt Disney Co. (DIS) shares dropped 1.5%.

Business life

Wealth

Even though Jobs earned only $1 a year as CEO of Apple, he held 5.426 million Apple shares, as well as 138 million shares in Disney (which he had received in exchange for Disney's acquisition of Pixar). ''Forbes'' estimated his net wealth at $8.3 billion in 2010, making him the 42nd wealthiest American.

Stock options backdating issue

In 2001, Steve Jobs was granted stock options in the amount of 7.5 million shares of Apple with an exercise price of $18.30, which allegedly should have been $21.10, thereby incurring taxable income of $20,000,000 that he did not report as income. This indicated backdating. Apple overstated its earnings by that same amount. If found liable, Jobs might have faced a number of criminal charges and civil penalties. Apple claimed that the options were originally granted at a special board meeting. Furthermore, the investigation is focusing on false dating of the options resulting in a retroactive $20 million increase in the exercise price. The case is the subject of active criminal and civil government investigations, though an independent internal Apple investigation completed on December 29, 2006, found that Jobs was unaware of these issues and that the options granted to him were returned without being exercised in 2003. On July 1, 2008, a $7 billion class action suit was filed against several members of the Apple Board of Directors for revenue lost due to the alleged securities fraud.

Management style

Much was made of Jobs' aggressive and demanding personality. ''Fortune'' wrote that he was "considered one of Silicon Valley's leading egomaniacs". Commentaries on his temperamental style can be found in Mike Moritz's ''The Little Kingdom'', one of the few authorized biographies of Jobs; ''The Second Coming of Steve Jobs,'' by Alan Deutschman; and ''iCon: Steve Jobs'', by Jeffrey S. Young & William L. Simon. In 1993, Jobs made Fortune's list of America's Toughest Bosses in regard to his leadership of NeXT. Cofounder Dan'l Lewin was quoted in Fortune as saying of that period, "The highs were unbelievable . . . [b]ut the lows were unimaginable," to which Jobs's office replied that his personality had changed since then.

Jef Raskin, a former colleague, once said that Jobs "would have made an excellent king of France," alluding to Jobs' compelling and larger-than-life persona.

Jobs always aspired to position Apple and its products at the forefront of the information technology industry by foreseeing and setting trends, at least in innovation and style. He summed up that self-concept at the end of his keynote speech at the Macworld Conference and Expo in January 2007 by quoting ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky:

Floyd Norman said that at Pixar, Jobs was a "mature, mellow individual" and never interfered with the creative process of the filmmakers.

In 2005, Steve Jobs banned all books published by John Wiley & Sons from Apple Stores in response to their publishing an unauthorized biography, ''iCon: Steve Jobs''. In its 2010 annual earnings report, Wiley said it had "closed a deal ... to make its titles available for the iPad."

Inventions

Jobs is listed as either primary inventor or co-inventor in 338 US patents or patent applications related to a range of technologies from actual computer and portable devices to user interfaces (including touch-based), speakers, keyboards, power adapters, staircases, clasps, sleeves, lanyards and packages.

Philanthropy

After Bloomberg accidentally published Jobs' obituary in 2008, Arik Hesseldahl of BusinessWeek magazine noted that "Jobs isn't widely known for his association with philanthropic causes", compared to Bill Gates' efforts. After resuming control of Apple in 1997, Jobs eliminated all corporate philanthropy programs.

Personal life

Jobs married Laurene Powell, on March 18, 1991. Presiding over the wedding was the Zen Buddhist monk Kobun Chino Otogawa. The couple have a son and two daughters. Jobs also has a daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs (born 1978), from his relationship with Bay Area painter Chrisann Brennan. She briefly raised their daughter on welfare when Jobs denied paternity by claiming he was sterile; he later acknowledged Lisa as his daughter.

In the unauthorized biography, ''The Second Coming of Steve Jobs,'' author Alan Deutschman reports that Jobs once dated Joan Baez. Deutschman quotes Elizabeth Holmes, a friend of Jobs from his time at Reed College, as saying she "believed that Steve became the lover of Joan Baez in large measure because Baez had been the lover of Bob Dylan." In another unauthorized biography, ''iCon: Steve Jobs'' by Jeffrey S. Young & William L. Simon, the authors suggest that Jobs might have married Baez, but her age at the time (41) meant it was unlikely the couple could have children.

Jobs was also a fan of The Beatles. He referred to them on multiple occasions at Keynotes and also was interviewed on a showing of a Paul McCartney concert. When asked about his business model on ''60 Minutes'', he replied:

In 1982, Jobs bought an apartment in The San Remo, an apartment building in New York City with a politically progressive reputation, where Demi Moore, Steven Spielberg, Steve Martin, and Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, daughter of Rita Hayworth, also had apartments. With the help of I.M. Pei, Jobs spent years renovating his apartment in the top two floors of the building's north tower, only to sell it almost two decades later to U2 singer Bono. Jobs had never moved in.

In 1984, Jobs purchased a , 14-bedroom Spanish Colonial mansion, designed by George Washington Smith, in Woodside, California (also known as Jackling House). Although it reportedly remained in an almost unfurnished state, Jobs lived in the mansion for almost ten years. According to reports, he kept an old BMW motorcycle in the living room, and let Bill Clinton use it in 1998. From the early 1990s, Jobs lived in a house in the Old Palo Alto neighborhood of Palo Alto. President Clinton dined with Jobs and 14 Silicon Valley CEOs there on August 7, 1996 on a meal catered by Greens Restaurant. Clinton returned the favor and Jobs, who was a Democratic donor, slept in the Lincoln bedroom of the White House.

Jobs allowed Jackling House to fall into a state of disrepair, planning to demolish the house and build a smaller home on the property; but he met with complaints from local preservationists over his plans. In June 2004, the Woodside Town Council gave Jobs approval to demolish the mansion, on the condition that he advertise the property for a year to see if someone would move it to another location and restore it. A number of people expressed interest, including several with experience in restoring old property, but no agreements to that effect were reached. Later that same year, a local preservationist group began seeking legal action to prevent demolition. In January 2007 Jobs was denied the right to demolish the property, by a court decision. The court decision was overturned on appeal in March 2010 and the mansion was demolished beginning February 2011.

Jobs usually wore a black long-sleeved mock turtleneck made by St. Croix, Levi's 501 blue jeans, and New Balance 991 sneakers. He was a pescetarian, one whose diet includes fish but no other meat.

His car was a silver 2008 Mercedes SL 55 AMG, which does not display its license plates.

Jobs had a public war of words with Dell Computer CEO Michael Dell, starting when Jobs first criticized Dell for making "un-innovative beige boxes". On October 6, 1997, in a Gartner Symposium, when Michael Dell was asked what he would do if he owned then-troubled Apple Computer, he said "I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders." In 2006, Steve Jobs sent an email to all employees when Apple's market capitalization rose above Dell's. The email read:

Illness and death

In mid-2004, Jobs announced to his employees that he had been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his pancreas. The prognosis for pancreatic cancer is usually very poor; Jobs, however, stated that he had a rare, far less aggressive type known as islet cell neuroendocrine tumor. After initially resisting the idea of conventional medical intervention and embarking on a special diet to thwart the disease, Jobs underwent a pancreaticoduodenectomy (or "Whipple procedure") in July 2004 that appeared to successfully remove the tumor. Jobs apparently did not require nor receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy. During Jobs' absence, Timothy D. Cook, head of worldwide sales and operations at Apple, ran the company.

In early August 2006, Jobs delivered the keynote for Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference. His "thin, almost gaunt" appearance and unusually "listless" delivery, together with his choice to delegate significant portions of his keynote to other presenters, inspired a flurry of media and Internet speculation about his health. In contrast, according to an ''Ars Technica'' journal report, WWDC attendees who saw Jobs in person said he "looked fine". Following the keynote, an Apple spokesperson said that "Steve's health is robust."

Two years later, similar concerns followed Jobs' 2008 WWDC keynote address. Apple officials stated Jobs was victim to a "common bug" and was taking antibiotics, while others surmised his cachectic appearance was due to the Whipple procedure. During a July conference call discussing Apple earnings, participants responded to repeated questions about Steve Jobs' health by insisting that it was a "private matter". Others, however, voiced the opinion that shareholders had a right to know more, given Jobs' hands-on approach to running his company. The ''New York Times'' published an article based on an off-the-record phone conversation with Jobs, noting that "while his health issues have amounted to a good deal more than 'a common bug,' they weren't life-threatening and he doesn't have a recurrence of cancer."

On August 28, 2008, Bloomberg mistakenly published a 2500-word obituary of Jobs in its corporate news service, containing blank spaces for his age and cause of death. (News carriers customarily stockpile up-to-date obituaries to facilitate news delivery in the event of a well-known figure's untimely death.) Although the error was promptly rectified, many news carriers and blogs reported on it, intensifying rumors concerning Jobs' health. Jobs responded at Apple's September 2008 ''Let's Rock'' keynote by quoting Mark Twain: "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." At a subsequent media event, Jobs concluded his presentation with a slide reading "110/70", referring to his blood pressure, stating he would not address further questions about his health.

On December 16, 2008, Apple announced that marketing vice-president Phil Schiller would deliver the company's final keynote address at the Macworld Conference and Expo 2009, again reviving questions about Jobs' health. In a statement given on January 5, 2009 on Apple.com, Jobs said that he had been suffering from a "hormone imbalance" for several months. On January 14, 2009, in an internal Apple memo, Jobs wrote that in the previous week he had "learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought" and announced a six-month leave of absence until the end of June 2009 to allow him to better focus on his health. Tim Cook, who had previously acted as CEO in Jobs' 2004 absence, became acting CEO of Apple, with Jobs still involved with "major strategic decisions."

In April 2009, Jobs underwent a liver transplant at Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute in Memphis, Tennessee. Jobs' prognosis was "excellent".

On January 17, 2011, a year and a half after Jobs returned from his liver transplant, Apple announced that he had been granted a medical leave of absence. Jobs announced his leave in a letter to employees, stating his decision was made "so he could focus on his health". As during his 2009 medical leave, Apple announced that Tim Cook would run day-to-day operations and that Jobs would continue to be involved in major strategic decisions at the company. Despite the leave, he made appearances at the iPad 2 launch event (March 2), the WWDC keynote introducing iCloud (June 6), and before the Cupertino city council (June 7).

Jobs announced his resignation from his role as Apple's CEO on August 24, 2011. In his resignation letter, Jobs wrote that he could "no longer meet [his] duties and expectations as Apple's CEO".

On October 5, 2011, his family, in a statement, said Jobs "died peacefully today surrounded by his family . . ."

Apple released a separate statement saying that Jobs had died. The statement read "We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today. Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts."

Also on October 5, 2011, Apple's corporate website greeted visitors with a simple page showing Jobs's name and lifespan next to his greyscale portrait. Clicking on Jobs's image led to an obituary that read "Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple." An email address was also posted for the public to share their memories, condolences, and thoughts.

Jobs is survived by his wife, Laurene, to whom he was married for 20 years, their three children, and a fourth child, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, from a previous relationship.

Statements on Jobs' death

Statements reacting to Jobs' death were released by notable people in the US, including U.S. President Barack Obama, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Walt Disney Company's Bob Iger, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Wired collected reactions and posted them in tribute on their homepage.

Excerpts from President Barack Obama's statement:

Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it. By building one of the planet’s most successful companies from his garage, he exemplified the spirit of American ingenuity. By making computers personal and putting the internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible, but intuitive and fun. And by turning his talents to storytelling, he has brought joy to millions of children and grownups alike. Steve was fond of saying that he lived every day like it was his last. Because he did, he transformed our lives, redefined entire industries, and achieved one of the rarest feats in human history: he changed the way each of us sees the world.

Bill Gates released a statement saying:

I'm truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs' death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work. Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives. The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.

Walt Disney Company president Bob Iger said in regards to Jobs:

Steve Jobs was a great friend as well as a trusted advisor. His legacy will extend far beyond the products he created or the businesses he built. It will be the millions of people he inspired, the lives he changed, and the culture he defined. Steve was such an "original," with a thoroughly creative, imaginative mind that defined an era. Despite all he accomplished, it feels like he was just getting started. With his passing the world has lost a rare original, Disney has lost a member of our family, and I have lost a great friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Laurene and his children during this difficult time.

Mark Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page:

Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you.

American director Steven Spielberg said: "Steve Jobs was the greatest inventor since Thomas Edison. He put the world at our fingertips."

Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen said: "We've lost a unique tech pioneer and auteur who knew how to make amazingly great products. Steve fought a long battle against tough odds in a very brave way. He kept doing amazing things in the face of all that adversity. As someone who has had his own medical challenges, I couldn't help but be encouraged by how he persevered."

Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak said : "People sometimes have goals in life. Steve Jobs exceeded every goal he set himself."

Honors

Jobs was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 with Steve Wozniak (among the first people to ever receive the honor), and a Jefferson Award for Public Service in the category "Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under" (a.k.a. the ''Samuel S. Beard Award'') in 1987. On November 27, 2007, Jobs was named the most powerful person in business by ''Fortune Magazine''. On December 5, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Jobs into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts.

In August 2009, Jobs was selected as the most admired entrepreneur among teenagers in a survey by Junior Achievement. On November 5, 2009, Jobs was named the CEO of the decade by ''Fortune Magazine''. In September 2011, Jobs was ranked No.17 on Forbes: The World's Most Powerful People. In December 2010, the ''Financial Times'' named Jobs its person of the year for 2010, ending its essay by stating, "In his autobiography, John Sculley, the former PepsiCo executive who once ran Apple, said this of the ambitions of the man he had pushed out: 'Apple was supposed to become a wonderful consumer products company. This was a lunatic plan. High-tech could not be designed and sold as a consumer product.' How wrong can you be".

In popular culture

Due to his youth, great wealth, and charisma, after Apple's founding Jobs became a symbol of his company and industry. When ''Time'' named the computer as the 1982 "Machine of the Year", it published a long profile of him as "the most famous maestro of the micro". In 2011 Jobs was voted Best Business Entrepreneur On Earth. Jobs was prominently featured in four productions about the history of the personal computing industry:

''Triumph of the Nerds'' – a 1996 three-part documentary for PBS, about the rise of the home computer/personal computer.

''Nerds 2.0.1'' – a 1998 three-part documentary for PBS, (and sequel to ''Triumph of the Nerds'') which chronicles the development of the Internet.

''Pirates of Silicon Valley'' – a 1999 docudrama which chronicles the rise of Apple and Microsoft. He was portrayed by Noah Wyle.

''The Machine that Changed the World (1992)'' – Part 3 of this 5 part documentary, called ''The Paperback Computer'', prominently featured Jobs and his role in the early days of Apple.

After his resignation as Apple's CEO, Jobs was characterized as the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford of his time.

Notes

References

Bantam Doubleday Dell. ISBN 0-385-48684-7. Chapter 28

External links

Steve Jobs' executive profile at Apple.

YouTube video of first Jobs' Macworld keynote in 1997, when he returned to Apple, where he announced partnership with Microsoft.

Jobs's commencement address at Stanford University, June 12, 2005 (YouTube video).

"Thoughts on Music" by Steve Jobs, February 6, 2007.

"Thoughts on Flash" by Steve Jobs, April, 2010.

Bloomberg Game Changers: Steve Jobs A 48 minute video on Steve Jobs by Bloomberg

Profile at ''Forbes''

Articles

"Thirty Years of Innovation at Apple: Jobs on the Job". ''Time''. 2007.

Anecdotes from Steve Jobs' early days in Apple as reported by Andy Hertzfeld. Folklore.org.

Interviews

Steve Jobs in 1994: The Rolling Stone Interview, ''Rolling Stone'' – 1994, republished January 17, 2011. Archived URL

 — April 20, 1995.

The Seed of Apple's Innovation, ''BusinessWeek'' — October 12, 2004.

How Big Can Apple Get?, ''Fortune'' — February 21, 2005.

, ''Newsweek'' — October 15, 2006.

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs (video and transcript of on stage interview), ''All Things D'' – May 30, 2007.

Videotaped Deposition of Steven P. Jobs in front of the Securities and Exchange Commission  – March 18, 2008

Interview with Abdulfattah "John" Jandali, Job's biological father, by Mohannad Al-Haj Ali, published in ''Al Hayat'' ''Ya Liban'', February 28, 2011

Category:1955 births Category:2011 deaths Category:American adoptees Category:American billionaires Category:American chief executives Category:American people of Syrian descent Category:American Zen Buddhists Category:Apple Inc. employees Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats Category:Businesspeople from California Category:Businesspeople in software Category:Computer designers Category:Computer pioneers Category:Disney people Category:Internet pioneers Category:National Medal of Technology recipients Category:NeXT Category:Organ transplant recipients Category:People from the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Pescetarians Category:Reed College alumni

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name	Jim Cramer
birth date	February 10, 1955
birth place	Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, U.S.
birth name	James J. Cramer
occupation	Television personality, author
years active	1978–present
networth	US$50–100 million, as of October 2005 (self-proclaimed)
known for	Hosting ''Mad Money''Chairman of TheStreet.com, Inc.
residence	Summit, New Jersey
alma mater	Harvard College (B.A.)Harvard Law School (J.D.) }}

James "Jim" J. Cramer (born February 10, 1955) is an American television personality, a former hedge fund manager, and a best-selling author. Cramer is the host of CNBC's ''Mad Money'' and a co-founder and chairman of TheStreet.com, Inc.

Family

Cramer married Karen Backfisch-Olufsen, a trader with Steinhardt's firm in 1988, and lives in Summit, New Jersey.

Early years

Cramer was born to Jewish parents in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. One of his first jobs was selling ice cream at Veterans Stadium during Philadelphia Phillies games. Cramer went to Springfield Township High School in Montgomery County.

Biography

Education and early career

Cramer graduated ''magna cum laude'' from Harvard College with a B.A. in government.

He began his involvement with journalism in college, working for ''The Harvard Crimson'', and rising to become its president. After graduation, Cramer worked in several entry-level reporting jobs. Dating back to March 1, 1978, Cramer worked for the ''Tallahassee Democrat'' in Tallahassee, Florida, where he covered the Ted Bundy murders. The then-executive editor, Richard Oppel, says "[Cramer] was like a driving ram. He was great at getting the story." He then worked as a journalist for ''The Los Angeles Herald Examiner''. Around this time, his apartment was robbed by a stalker and he was left with nothing more than his car and the things in it; he lived out of it for about nine months. He also worked for Governor Jerry Brown.

Cramer was one of the first reporters at ''American Lawyer''. Cramer later earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. During his years at Harvard Law School, Cramer worked as a research assistant for Alan Dershowitz. He assisted Dershowitz's campaign to acquit alleged murderer Claus von Bülow despite the fact that Cramer admitted to himself that von Bülow was "supremely guilty". His plans to become a prosecutor were dashed when he was denied employment with the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, headed at the time by Rudy Giuliani, because his law school grades were not good enough. Cramer was admitted to the New York Bar in 1985, but his Bar status is currently listed as "suspended."

Investing

Cramer started investing in the stock market during his time at law school. Cramer began promoting his holdings by leaving stock picks on his answering machine, impressing ''The New Republic'' owner Martin Peretz, who gave him $500,000 to invest; Cramer earned Peretz $150,000 in two years.

His track record helped Cramer obtain employment in 1984 as a stock broker with Goldman Sachs' Private Wealth Management division. Cramer's success in this position led him to found his own hedge fund, Cramer & Co. (later Cramer, Berkowitz, & Co.), in 1987. The fund operated out of the offices of hedge fund pioneer Michael Steinhardt's Steinhardt, Fine, Berkowitz & Co., and early investors included Eliot Spitzer (a Harvard classmate, one of his oldest friends, and former Governor of New York), Brill, and Peretz.

During Cramer's tenure of the fund, from 1988–2000, he had one year of negative returns, in 1998, the year of the 1998 Russian financial crisis. It finished down 2–3% for the year, and did not charge a management fee that year to their clients. The following year in 1999 the fund returned 47%, and in 2000 28%, beating the S&P; 500 by 38 percentage points. Cramer retired from his hedge fund in 2001, finishing with a 24% average annual return over 14 years and having "routinely [taken] home $10 million a year and more." The fund was taken over by his former partner Jeff Berkowitz after Cramer's retirement. During that time, he was also an "editor at large" for Smart Money magazine, and was accused of unethically combining his investing and reporting activities when he bought more of stocks that he recommended just before the recommendation article came out, contributing to a $2 million personal gain.

In 1996, Cramer co-founded TheStreet.com, Inc. with ''The New Republic'' editor Martin Peretz, one of his hedge fund's original clients. Cramer is currently a market commentator and adviser to the TheStreet.com, and is its second largest shareholder. Cramer also manages a charitable trust stock portfolio which is tied to TheStreet.com through a paid subscription service called the Action Alerts ''PLUS'' Portfolio.

Cramer currently works on a new project as part of TheStreet.com called MainStreet.com. An earlier project, TheRoad.com, was not successful.

Cramer claimed to be worth $50 to $100 million in October 2005. In 2009, Cramer received earnings of $461,276 from TheStreet.com.

Television personality

The cable television program ''Mad Money with Jim Cramer'' first aired on CNBC in 2005. According to CNBC's Web site in an article titled, "Mad Money Manifesto" by Jim Cramer, the show's mission statement and Cramer's job

"...is not to tell you what to think, but to teach you how to think about the market like a pro. This show is not about picking stocks. It's not about giving you tips that will make you money overnight – tips are for waiters. Our mission is educational, to teach you how to analyze stocks and the market through the prism of events."

To provide viewers with "the knowledge and the tools that will empower you to be a better investor," ''Mad Money'' features many segments, including: The ''Lightning Round'', ''Game Plan'', ''Execution Decision'', ''Off the Charts'', ''Sell Block'', ''Market Marshmallows'', ''Outrage of the Day'', ''Mad Bull Disease'', ''Am I Diversified'', and ''Mad Mail''.

After being a frequent guest commentator on CNBC in the late 1990s, Cramer co-hosted CNBC shows ''America Now'' and ''Kudlow & Cramer'' with Lawrence Kudlow in the early 2000s.

Cramer hosted a one-hour radio show, ''Jim Cramer's Real Money'', until December 2006. "Take the money and run" by the Steve Miller Band was the opening intro to each of his radio shows. The show was similar to his ''Mad Money'' TV show. He also guest-hosted in the slot caused by the cancellation of ''Imus in the Morning'' (MSNBC and WFAN/Westwood One) in May 2007.

On November 13, 2005, Dan Rather did a sit-down interview with Cramer on ''60 Minutes''. Among the topics of discussion were Cramer's past at his hedge fund; for example, his violent temper, and what finally led him to come to his senses and "calm down." Footage of Cramer at his family home with his daughters and wife was also included. On November 15, 2005, Cramer mentioned on his program that he received hundreds of e-mails after his ''60 Minutes'' interview. This report was taped before Cramer's radio show, ''Smart Money with Jim Cramer'' moved to WOR and became syndicated under the CBS Radio banner.

In 2005, Cramer appeared as himself in two episodes of the television series ''Arrested Development''. He appeared to first announce that he had upgraded Bluth Company stock to a "Don't Buy" from a "Triple Sell", and then to say that the stock was not a "Don't Buy" anymore, but a "Risky".

Cramer has also made appearances on NBC's ''Today'', ''NBC Nightly News'', ''Live with Regis and Kelly'', ESPN Classic's ''Cheap Seats'', NBC's ''Late Night With Conan O'Brien'', Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'', ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ABC's ''Jimmy Kimmel Live'' and NBC's ''The Apprentice (U.S. Season 7)'' called "The Celebrity Apprentice".

Cramer also appeared in the 2008 motion picture ''Iron Man'' spoofing Stark Industries on his show ''Mad Money''. and appears in the movie ''Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps''. He also claims to have consulted for the original Wall Street movie by telling the filmmakers how he would get through to Gordon Gekko.

On March 12, 2009, Jon Stewart interviewed Cramer on The Daily Show.

On November 3, 2009, Cramer appeared on the ''Martha Stewart'' Show to promote his new book,''Getting Back to Even''. While baking wholewheat bread, he stated that it is a great time to invest in real estate and that he has recently purchased the Debary Inn in Summit, NJ.

In 2010, Cramer spent Passover in Israel. He is an active member of the Jewish Community and strong supporter of Israel. “Israel is a democracy, one of the great democracies of all time,” Cramer said.

As of March 2011, Cramer recommends gold, "I think you can see $1,550 (an ounce) very quickly and $2,000 within the next 18 months. I think between 10 and 20 percent of your portfolio should be gold."

Selected controversies

Fox News Channel lawsuit

In 2000, Cramer settled a lawsuit with Fox News Channel in which Fox had claimed Cramer reneged on a deal to produce a show for them. Their conflict began when Fox complained that Cramer promoted TheStreet.com's stock on the air.

Market manipulation

In March 2007, a December 2006 interview from TheStreet.com's "Wall Street Confidential" webcast stirred controversy after it appeared on YouTube.com. In the video, Cramer described activities used by hedge fund managers to manipulate stock prices – some of debatable legality and others illegal. He described how he could push stocks higher or lower with as little as $5 million in capital when he was running his hedge fund. Cramer said, "A lot of times when I was short at my hedge fund...When I was positioned short—meaning I needed it down—I would create a level of activity beforehand that could drive the futures." He also encouraged hedge funds to engage in this type of activity because it is "a very quick way to make money".

Cramer stated that everything he did was legal, but that illegal activity is common in the hedge fund industry as well. He also stated that some hedge fund managers spread false rumors to drive a stock down: "What's important when you are in that hedge-fund mode is to not do anything remotely truthful because the truth is so against your view, that it's important to create a new truth, to develop a fiction." Cramer described a variety of tactics that hedge fund managers use to affect a stock's price. Cramer said that one strategy to keep a stock price down is to spread false rumors to reporters he described as "the Pisanis of the world". The comment was a reference to CNBC correspondent Bob Pisani, who reports from the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. "You have to use these guys," said Cramer. He also discussed giving information to "the bozo reporter from The Wall Street Journal" to get an article published. Cramer said this practice, although illegal, is easy to do "because the SEC doesn't understand it." During the interview Cramer referred to himself as a "banking class hero."

SEC subpoena

In February 2006, an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into allegations of collusion between short-sellers and a stock research firm led to the serving of subpoenas to TheStreet.com and Cramer, as well as journalists for Dow Jones and Marketwatch.com. The SEC then began to back away from the subpoenas, indicating it had no intention of enforcing them after lawyers for Dow Jones said they would not comply. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox rebuked the SEC's staff attorneys for filing subpoenas on two Dow Jones reporters without first consulting him or the other top commissioners. Cox issued a statement saying neither he nor any of the SEC's four other commissioners were aware of the subpoenas, which he called "highly unusual."

The allegations had been raised publicly and in a lawsuit against Gradient by Overstock.com chief executive Patrick M. Byrne. In May 2007, it was revealed that the SEC had subpoenaed Byrne in May 2006, in connection with an investigation of the company.

Performance of stock picks

Cramer is the founder, former owner and Senior Partner of Cramer Berkowitz, a hedge fund where Cramer reported a compounded annual "rate of return of 24% after all fees for 15 years" at Cramer Berkowitz. He retired from his hedge fund in 2001, where he finished with a self reported 36% return in 2001.

On September 15, 2008, Cramer invited Robert Steel, the CEO of Wachovia on his show, ''Mad Money'', in order to recommend the stock to potential investors. Cramer agreed with the CEO that the company was fundamentally sound and that the ratio of good loans to bad loans was low. Cramer would recommend the stock to his viewers before Citi announced their intentions to acquire Wachovia's banking operations. Cramer stated that Wachovia was part of the "Fortress Five" in relation to having a fortress balance sheet stating "It's now the 'Fortress Five'... thanks to the leadership of Bob Steele, who I believe will be able to split WB into a good bank and a bad bank, and lead it much higher... Now that the stock was up today a couple of smackers... have a little pullback... knowing this market, you're going to get one." On Monday, September 29, Wachovia's share prices dropped over 95% in the pre-market and over 80% in market hours following news of a possible Citi acquisition. Prior to this, Cramer had stated, "This is run by Bob Steel. He's as close as we're going to get to a great banker. I think he's going to make this a great company. " Eventually, Wells Fargo would purchase Wachovia for $15.1 billion in an all stock deal leaving Wachovia shareholders with 0.1991 shares of Wells Fargo for every share of Wachovia stock, resulting in a large decline in stockholder value. In 2008, Wachovia shares declined 88 percent.

On August 3, 2007, Cramer made a plea (some call a rant) for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to cut interest rates supposedly because of comments he was getting from investment banks, and their concern about adjustable-rate mortgage borrowers increasing loan rates.

On July 8, 2008, in an article on TheStreet.com entitled, "Look At The Facts" Cramer said, "The losses are increasing, the auction-rate preferreds are now biting, the mortgage implode-a-meter now measures how many home-builders are going under."

On "Hardball with Chris Matthews" for September 19, 2008, Cramer stated "It's not too late to be on the pom-pom...the sideline" in regards to home teaser loans. Cramer spoke again on the Today Show on October 6, 2008, suggesting to investors, "Whatever money you need for the next five years, please take it out of the stock market."

On September 22, 2008, ''Wall Street Journal'' best-selling author Eric Tyson, criticized Cramer's stock picks and his performance in general.

An August 20, 2007, article in Barrons stated that within the select time frame of the previous two years, "his picks haven't beaten the market. Over the past two years, viewers holding Cramer's stocks would be up 12% while the Dow rose 22% and the S&P; 500 16%." CNBC disputed the magazine's findings. In a February 9, 2009, story, Barrons further reported that betting against Cramer's Buy recommendations using options in the short term could yield 25% in the initial month.

On September 28, 2009, Cramer told subscribers to buy CIT. One month later the company went bankrupt.

Action Alerts charitable trust

In the timeframe of 2002 until May 2009 the performance of Cramer's charitable trust ''"Action Alerts PLUS"'' outpaced the S&P; 500 and the Russell 2000; while the charitable trust accumulated a return of 31.75%, the S&P; 500 had a return of 18.75% and the Russell 2000 has a return of 22.51%. On an annual basis, the trust outperformed the S&P; 500 by 7.35% and the Russell 2000 Index by 3.33%.

CNBC does not permit Cramer to buy or sell any security he has spoken about on CNBC for the trust for five days following the broadcast. Whenever Cramer is acting within his portfolio or important news about his stocks occur he sends out e-mails to his paying subscribers on TheStreet.com. Whenever mentioning a stock that he holds in his portfolio, he is required to disclose that he owns shares of such company on his CNBC show.

Bear Stearns recommendation

On the March 11, 2008, episode of Cramer's show ''Mad Money'', a viewer named Peter submitted the question "Should I be worried about Bear Stearns in terms of liquidity and get my money out of there?" Cramer responded "No! No! No! Bear Stearns is not in trouble. If anything, they're more likely to be ''taken over''. Don't move your money from Bear." In other words, the caller wanted to know if it was possible that the liquidity crisis at Bear was so bad, that the viewer would be unable to get his money out of his Bear Stearns account if it went under. On March 17, 2008, Cramer claimed he meant the latter explanation, rather than the previous one. Cramer states he was not recommending the common stock but allaying concerns about the account holder's liquidity held in a Bear Stearns brokerage account. Cramer later wrote about the incident: "I did tell an emailer that his deposit in his account at Bear Stearns was safe, but through a clever sound bite, (Jon) Stewart, and subsequently (Frank) Rich—neither of whom have bothered to listen to the context of the pulled quote—pass off the notion of account safety as an out-and-out buy recommendation. The absurdity astounds me. If you called Mad Money and asked me about Citigroup, I would tell you that the common stock might be worthless, but I would never tell you to pull your money out of the bank because I was worried about its solvency. Your money is safe in Citi as I said it was in Bear. The fact that I was right rankles me even more."

Michael Lewis, a journalist for the U.K.-based Evening Standard news Web site, states that TheStreet.com listed Bear Stearns as a "Buy" at $62 per share on March 11, 2008, which was the same day as the caller's question and a day before the collapse of Bear Stearns. However, TheStreet.com--the web site quote that shows the ratings history for actual changes that Cramer makes—indicates that Cramer changed Bear Stearns rating to a "Sell" on February 5, 2008. On his March 12, 2009 appearance on the Daily Show, Cramer admitted he made mistakes on his Bear Stearns calls.

Cramer's responses to criticism

The White House

On March 2, 2009, Cramer drew the attention of some critics after his evaluation of President Obama’s spending plans and the administration’s handling of the banking crisis. Cramer’s name came up on March 3 during a White House press briefing after Cramer said that Obama was responsible for “the greatest wealth destruction I have seen by a president.” An offended White House shot back. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, "If you turn on a certain program it's geared to a very small audience. I'm not entirely sure what he's pointing to make some of the statements." When pressed further by NBC's Tom Costello, Gibbs said, "You can go back and look at any number of statements he's made in the past about the economy and wonder where some of the backup for those are, too."

On March 5, 2009, Cramer responded to the White House. He said, "Huh? Backup? Look at the incredible decline in the stock market, in all indices, since the inauguration of the president, with the drop accelerating when the budget plan came to light because of the massive fear and indecision the document sowed: Raising taxes on the eve of what could be a second Great Depression, destroying the profits in health care companies, tinkering with the mortgage deduction at a time when U.S. house price depreciation is behind much of the world's morass and certainly the devastation affecting our banks, and pushing an aggressive cap and trade program that could raise the price of energy for millions of people."

Cramer questioned criticism he received which he explained makes him "uncomfortable being in the crosshairs of columnists and comedians I enjoy." Cramer asked, "So, why after toiling in the cable wilderness for four years with Mad Money am I the target of the wrath of the Obama clan, and the darling, albeit surely momentary, of the Obama-critics? After all, my criticism of Obama's handling of the economic crisis is a lot less pointed than my withering August 2007 'They Know Nothing' meltdown against Ben Bernanke and the previous administration's handling of the economic crisis."

Frank Rich

Referring to March 8, 2009, charges leveled against Cramer by ''New York Times'' columnist Frank Rich, Cramer said that he does not understand how Obama and his staff plan to raise taxes, institute cap-and-trade limitations and rework the health-care system all during a recession. The article says: "It isn’t that Cramer disagrees with Obama’s vision for the country – he even agrees with taxing the rich – but now is not the time to put those plans into action. The president needs to solve our housing, employment and financial problems, and only then turn his attention to health care and changing the mortgage deduction."

Jon Stewart

On March 12, 2009, Cramer appeared on ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. Stewart reiterated earlier claims regarding the CNBC host's "silly and/or embarrassing and/or stupid financial observations." Moreover, he claimed CNBC shirked its journalistic duty by believing corporate lies, rather than being an investigative "powerful tool of illumination." For his part, Cramer disagreed with Stewart on a few points, but acknowledged that he could have done a better job foreseeing the economic collapse: "We all should have seen it more."

Stewart also discussed how short-selling was detrimental to the markets and investors. Cramer admitted to Stewart that short-selling was detrimental, stated his opposition to it, and claimed that he had never engaged in it, which contradicts earlier statements in which he described going short while managing a hedge fund. In a December 2006 interview from TheStreet.com's "Wall Street Confidential" webcast Cramer said, "A lot of times when I was short at my hedge fund...When I was positioned short—meaning I needed it down—I would create a level of activity beforehand that could drive the futures." He said, "I will say this: I am trying to expose this stuff, exactly what you guys do, and I've been trying to get the regulators to look at it." However, Stewart played several video clips from 2006 where Cramer discussed the spreading of false rumors to drive down stock prices and encouraged short-selling by hedge funds as a means to generate returns. At one point in a clip from December 22, 2006 he said, "I would encourage anyone in a hedge fund to do it." He called it a very quick way to make money and very satisfying. He continued, "By the way, no one else in the world would ever admit that, but I don't care, and again, I'm not gonna say it on TV." Stewart responded, "I want the Jim Cramer on CNBC to protect me from that Jim Cramer." Cramer again admitted that he can do better, and that he should try to change. The interview ended when Stewart pointedly suggested: “Maybe we can remove the ‘financial expert’ and the ‘In Cramer We Trust’ and start getting back to fundamentals on the reporting, as well, and I can go back to making fart noises and funny faces.” Cramer responded: “I think we make that deal right here.”

Response to criticism for his Wachovia call

On March 9, 2009, during a segment on ''Mad Money'', Cramer said Frank Rich "chastised me for endorsing Wachovia's stock after then-CEO Bob Steel came onto Mad Money and spoke positively about the bank." After the bank collapsed, Cramer reminded viewers that he is the first person to admit when wrong. Cramer mentioned, "Look, I was taken in, the guy pantsed me. I made a mistake. The SEC is investigating Steel's appearance on the show for truthfulness, though. I made a mistake, but they're investigating him to see if he lied. Bigger issue. Sometimes you just get had."

Cramer apologized both on ''Mad Money'' and on the ''Today Show'' for promoting Steel.

Response to pundits

"The pundits," Cramer explained on March 9, 2009, in a MainStreet article, "who haven't paid attention to anything I have been saying or writing for the past 18 months are all over me." Cramer said the pundits "won't engage in the merits of, say, favoring Tier 1 capital for the banks vs. common equity, or forbearing on the banks to work the situation out over time because the banks can be profitable if we have some patience. They just attack me." Cramer suggested, "It's time to get serious. It's time to take the issue from the pundits and from the left and right, and put it where it belongs: serious non-ideological debate to put out the real firestorm, the collapse of the economy from Wall Street to Main Street and the ensuing Great Wealth Destruction for all."

Bibliography

''Jim Cramer's Getting Back to Even'' ISBN 978-1439158012

''Jim Cramer's Stay Mad for Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich (Make Your Kids Even Richer)'' ISBN 978-1416558859

''Jim Cramer's Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich'' ISBN 1-4165-3790-2

''Jim Cramer's Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World'' ISBN 0-7432-2489-2

''Confessions of a Street Addict'' ISBN 0-7432-2487-6

''You Got Screwed! Why Wall Street Tanked and How You Can Prosper'' ISBN 0-7432-4690-X

Notes

References

External links

Biographies

Jim Cramer biography on CNBC.com

Jim Cramer biography on TheStreet.com

Notable Cramer sources

Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer Madcap Recap

Mad Money TV show recapped Nightly Verbatim Recaps

TheStreet.com, Cramer's investment website.

Stockpickr Stock market social networking site.

Articles written by Jim Cramer on MainStreet.com

In the Money, continued, ''Balance Sheet'', article about Cramer and other law alumni, from the online ''Harvard Law Bulletin''

Betting on the Market – PBS Frontline interview with Jim Cramer

Jim Cramer's Picks at Seeking Alpha

''To The Moon''

Maxim: Ask Jim Cramer, Maxim's interview with Cramer, and Top 2 Chinese Stocks Right Now

''Time's'' 100 Most Influential People of 2009 – Jim Cramer

Jim Cramer on the Iraqi Dinar – on DinarProfits.com

Bear Stearns Recommendation

The Bear Stearns Recommendation – on CNBC

Category:1955 births Category:American broadcast news analysts Category:American columnists Category:American finance and investment writers Category:American infotainers Category:American investors Category:American Jews Category:American money managers Category:American talk radio hosts Category:American television personalities Category:American business journalists Category:Goldman Sachs people Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:The Harvard Crimson people Category:Hedge fund managers Category:Living people Category:New York lawyers Category:People from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Category:People from Summit, New Jersey

ja:ジム・クレイマー uk:Джим Крамер

Damon Vickers is a Seattle-based investor. He is also a periodic commentator on investments and social and economic trends in the general and financial press, maintains an investment-oriented channel on YouTube, and is the author of the ''New York Times'' business best-seller, ''The Day After the Dollar Crashes.''

Early life

Damon Vickers was born in 1964 in New York City, and grew up in Kew Gardens, Queens, New Haven, and later in Sonoma County. After his parent's divorce, Vickers went to live with his father, who had been a floor trader for Goldman Sachs.

Damon’s father eventually discovered the teachings of Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche and the Nyingma Institute, and the pair moved to Northern California to help build the newly-founded Odiyan Monastery. Vickers spent several years living at the monastery, where he was jointly influenced by the “extremely liberal” influence of his father and the disciplined regimen of the monastery, as well as rigorous training in meditation. At the age of 13, Damon was initiated by Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche in the Nyingma lineage, and participated in the Black Crown Ceremony with Karmapa.

Early career

At the age of 18 Vickers became a top synthesizer salesman at Manny’s Music in New York, where he sold equipment to individuals such as Will Smith, Pauly Shore, Russell Simmons, Annie Lenox, George Benson, and Iggy Pop, among others.

Business career

Currently, Vickers periodically reports on companies and trends he finds interesting in both a daily commentary blog and his Twitter page.

Radio host

thumb|180pxFrom 2001 to 2004 Damon Vickers was the host of ''The Damon Vickers Show'', a nationally syndicated five-day-a-week financial radio program that broadcast from Seattle and Tampa. Prior to his own show he was a periodic guest on the ''Business Talk Radio'' network, ''Bill Bresnan'', and ''The Dolans''.

Media presence

Vickers has been a guest on ''CNBC'', ''Bloomberg'', and ''Fox Business News''. He has been cited or quoted in ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The Washington Post'', and other financial and general-interest publications.

;''The Day After the Dollar Crashes His 2011 book ''The Day After the Dollar Crashes'' appeared on ''The New York Times'' business best-seller list, and reached number 5 among business books at Amazon.com. Martin D. Weiss called the book "A must read," with Michael W. Covel commenting “Damon Vickers wants you prepared for an unpredictable future. Are you? If not, time to wake up.”

Family history

Much of Damon Vickers' family were involved in business, investment, and finance. His father, John Vickers, was a floor trader for Goldman Sachs and Salomon Brothers. His grandfather Jack Vickers worked for Kidder Peabody and was a broker during the crash of 1929. Damon’s great grandmother, Katharine Angell, cofounded the Culinary Institute of America, and his great grandfather, James Rowland Angell, was head of the Rockefeller Foundation in 1920 and president of Yale University between 1921 and 1937.

References

External links

Damon Vickers on Twitter

Damon Vickers on Facebook

Damon Vickers on YouTube

''Day After Dollar Crashes Survival on Amazon.com

Category:Living people Category:1964 births Category:American money managers Category:Hedge fund managers Category:Financial analysts Category:Stock and commodity market managers Category:American writers Category:People from New York City

name	Peter Schiff
school tradition	Austrian School
color	firebrick
birth date	March 23, 1963
nationality	United States
field	Financial Economics
religion	Jewish
alma mater	U.C. Berkeley (B.B.A.), 1987
influences	Irwin Schiff, Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, Murray Rothbard
opposed	John Maynard Keynes, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, Paul Krugman, Christopher Dodd, Barack Obama,
signature	}}

Peter David Schiff (; born March 23, 1963) is an American businessman, author and financial commentator. Schiff is CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc., a broker-dealer based in Westport, Connecticut and CEO of Euro Pacific Precious Metals, LLC, a gold and silver dealer based in New York City.

Schiff frequently appears as a guest on CNBC, Fox News, and Bloomberg Television and is often quoted in major financial publications and is a frequent guest on internet radio as well as the host of the former podcast ''Wall Street Unspun'', which is now broadcast on terrestrial radio and known as ''The Peter Schiff Show''. In 2010 Schiff ran as a candidate in the Republican primary for the United States Senate seat from Connecticut.

Schiff is known for his bearish views on the dollar and dollar denominated assets, while bullish on investment in tangible assets as well as foreign stocks and currencies.

Early life and education

The son of Irwin Schiff, a prominent figure in the United States tax protester movement, Peter Schiff was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut. Schiff graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987 with a Bachelor's degree in finance and accounting.

Financial career

Schiff began his career as a financial consultant at a Shearson Lehman Brothers brokerage. In 1996 Schiff and a partner acquired a small brokerage firm that had been founded in 1980, reincorporated it in California and renamed it Euro Pacific Capital. The company today has more than 15,000 clients and six offices nationwide, with its headquarters in Westport, Connecticut.

According to a 2005 article in ''The Advocate'' of Stamford, Connecticut Schiff relocated the firm to Darien, Connecticut to find brokers "who think like him". The New York Metropolitan Area, Schiff says, has the biggest concentration of brokers in the country, making it easier to recruit employees. The company has offices in Newport Beach, California as well as in Scottsdale, Arizona, Palm Beach, Florida, Los Angeles and New York. Euro Pacific Capital also holds the exclusive rights to broker some Perth Mint gold products in the United States.

Economic forecasting

Peter Schiff specializes in the understanding of the Austrian School, a school of economic thought generally categorized as heterodox (or non-mainstream). Schiff voices strong support for the Austrian School, and says it was first introduced to him by his father, Irwin Schiff..

U.S. bear market

In his 2007 book, ''Crash Proof'', Schiff writes that the current United States economic policies are fundamentally unsound, and predicts that in the future the United States dollar will lose much of its value.

Schiff believes that the imbalance between the amount of goods the U.S. consumes and what it produces will eventually lead to problems for the U.S. economy. As a remedy Schiff favors increased personal savings and production which he says will stimulate economic growth. Schiff cites the U.S.'s low personal savings rate as one of the causes of its transformation from the world's largest creditor nation in the 1970s to the largest debtor nation in the year 2000. Schiff attributes the low savings rate to higher inflation and the artificially low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve.

In a 2002 interview with ''Southland Today'', Schiff predicted that the economic downturn triggered by the bursting of the stock market bubble would lead to a bear market likely to last "another 5 to 10 years." In November 2002, US stocks began a bull market uptrend which held steady for at least five years, until reversing course in 2008, when the Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P; 500 began a decline to less than half of their peak 2008 values, followed in 2009 by the Dow climbing 61% from its low point over the following year. After interviewing Schiff in 2009, journalist and finance author Eric Tyson, referenced various Schiff predictions during the 2000s and stated that "On all of these counts, Schiff wasn't just wrong but ended up being hugely wrong." Schiff later released a video stating that, "When I gave that interview in 2002, I had no way of knowing how irresponsible the Fed was going to be ... But I recognized that early: back in 2003 and 2004 I changed my forecast ... if you look at what happened to the Dow in terms of gold [and not U.S. dollars], my forecast was extremely accurate."

In an August 2006 interview he said: "The United States economy is like the Titanic and I am here with the lifeboat trying to get people to leave the ship... I see a real financial crisis coming for the United States." On December 31, 2006 in debate on Fox News, Schiff forecast that "what's going to happen in 2007" is that "real estate prices are going to come crashing back down to Earth".

As part of these exchanges on Fox News and his repeated appearances on financial news network CNBC, Schiff had mentioned factors such as speculators and "the absence of lending standards" which are now seen by many to indeed be contributing factors to the housing crisis which began in 2007. On December 13, 2007 in a Bloomberg interview on the show ''Open Exchange'', Schiff further added that he felt that the crisis would extend to the credit card lending industry. Following this observation, it was soon reported on December 23, 2007 by the Associated Press that "The value of credit card accounts at least 30 days late jumped 26 percent to $17.3 billion in October from a year earlier at 17 large credit card trusts examined by the AP... At the same time, defaults -- when lenders essentially give up hope of ever being repaid and write off the debt -- rose 18 percent to almost $961 million in October, according to filings made by the trusts with the Securities and Exchange Commission."

Since 2007, Schiff has stated many times that if the government doesn't change course there will be hyperinflation in the US. Schiff is one of a minority of economists credited with accurately predicting the financial crisis of 2007–2010 while "nearly all [macroeconomists] failed to foresee the recession despite plenty of warning signs". In his book ''Crash Proof'', he described several aspects of the U.S. economy that would lead to a recession.

Online videos

Schiff's notoriety for financial predictions increased when a You Tube video entitled "Peter Schiff was right" became popular in late 2008 and 2009. The video consists of a compilation of clips of his many appearances on various financial news programs from networks including CNBC, Fox News, MSNBC and Bloomberg, most of which took place from 2005 to 2007. In the segments Schiff explains specifically the fundamental problems he saw with the United States economy at that time. Schiff's warnings of a coming economic collapse earned him the moniker "Dr. Doom."

In late 2006, Schiff predicted the housing bubble and resulting subprime mortgage crisis, and in late 2008, he predicted the automotive industry crisis and the crisis in the banking and financial markets.

Investment advice

Despite predictions regarding the housing bubble and automotive industry difficulties coming to fruition, as early as 2009 Schiff was receiving criticism due to the performance of some of his client's accounts in 2008, as well as controversies over the predictions themselves. In January 2009, economic blogger and investment adviser Michael Shedlock reported, "I have talked with many who claim they have invested with Schiff and are down anywhere from 40% to 70% in 2008." Other criticisms followed, including the aforementioned Eric Tyson post as well as an article for the investment news site Seeking Alpha, published on the site two days after Shedlock's blog post. Later that week an article appeared in the ''Wall Street Journal'' reporting that Schiff's broker-dealer firm, Euro Pacific Capital Inc., "advised its clients to bet that the dollar would weaken significantly and that foreign stocks would outpace their U.S. peers" and that instead, the dollar advanced against most currencies, "magnifying the losses from foreign stocks Mr. Schiff steered his investors into."

The Director of Communications at Schiff's investment firm responded to the original Shedlock piece by saying, "While it is true, that our accounts have suffered badly in 2008, a fact that we have never disputed or ran from, [Shedlock's] estimates for the size of our typical client losses are exaggerated and unfair." Schiff personally responded to Shedlock's criticism by saying, "to examine the effectiveness of my investment strategy immediately following a major correction by looking only at those accounts who adopted the strategy at the previous peak is unfair and distortive" and called Shedlock's blog entry "nothing more than an overt advertisement (and a highly deceptive one at that) to use my popularity to advance his career," adding that losses were felt mostly by recent clients and not by others.

Schiff responded similarly to criticisms made by Wade Slome of Sidoxia Capital Management, LLC. in a September 2009 blog entry entitled, "The Emperor Schiff Has No Clothes." Schiff stated not only were the losses suffered by his clients in 2008 highly exaggerated, but also that most of those losses have already been recouped, stating that many who where down then are now up, and most long-term clients were never down at all, but merely temporarily lost some of the profits they had earned over the years.

The January 2009 ''Wall Street Journal'' article discussed the value of Schiff's predictions, and stated how deficiencies "made mincemeat of investors who took his advice in 2008." In an interview the following week Schiff likened himself to billionaire investor Warren Buffett saying they were both "buy and hold" long-term investors. Contrasting his negative press he compared claims about accounts managed under Schiff's firm to the stock market value of Warren Buffett's company, saying: "His approach is you buy stocks and you never sell them—you hope to never sell them—and Berkshire Hathaway is down 40% in the last thirteen months; I don't see the Wall Street Journal saying 'Warren Buffett made mincemeat out of his clients.'" The ''Wall Street Journal'' also published a letter written by Schiff in response to his critics saying: "My central investing premise, a weakening dollar and safety in gold, commodities and foreign stocks, didn't materialize in 2008. But all the ingredients were (and remain) present for those movements to occur. Over the past year, market reactions that I didn't foresee—massive global deleveraging, a knee-jerk 'flight to quality' into U.S. Treasuries and a sharp counter trend rally in the U.S. dollar—have kept the scenario from playing out."

In a November 2009 videoblog, Schiff said that five stocks he picked for ''Fortune Magazine'' in January 2009 had gained a total of 360%.

In a March 2009 speech Schiff said that it would be impossible for the U.S. debt to China to be repaid unless the U.S. dollar's value is substantially diluted through inflation.

In September 2009 Schiff said that "I would not be surprised to see [gold] at $5,000 over the next several years" and that the 2009 stock market rally was a "bear market rally".

Political career

Schiff was an economic adviser to Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign. In support of Paul's economic revitalization plan, he said: "We need a plan that stimulates savings and production, not more of the reckless borrowing and consumption that got us into this mess in the first place. Ron Paul's plan is the only one that amounts to a step in the right direction. If you want meaningful change—for the better that is—Ron Paul is the only candidate capable of delivering it."

In 2008, Schiff also endorsed Murray Sabrin for the U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey.

In an interview in February 2009, Schiff's position was summarized as a nonpartisan critique of American policymakers, comparing former presidents George W. Bush to Herbert Hoover and President Barack Obama to former president Franklin D. Roosevelt, with neither of the more recent incumbents comparing favorably to the earlier ones.

Schiff supports the reduction of government economic regulation, and is concerned that President Obama's administration may increase such regulation.

Schiff says that the current economic crisis provides an opportunity to transition from borrowing and spending, to saving and producing. Schiff is critical of the U.S. government's efforts to "ease the pain" with economic stimulus packages and bailouts. According to Schiff, the U.S. government's approach of replacing "legitimate savings with a printing press" could result in hyperinflation.

2010 U.S. Senate campaign

In December 2008, Connecticut citizens created a website encouraging Schiff to campaign against the incumbent Senator Christopher Dodd. Approximately 5,000 people made campaign contributions using the web site. On February 21, 2009, a moneybomb raised over $20,000 for Schiff's campaign. In a May 2009 video blog, Schiff said that he was seriously considering a run for the senate and when questioned by a ''Washington Post'' reporter, he said the chance of him entering politics was "better than 50-50". In June 2009 Schiff commissioned a poll of likely voters which indicated that he trailed Dodd in popularity by four percentage points. On July 9, 2009, Schiff launched an exploratory committee and an official campaign website. He began accepting donations in an attempt to see if "people who really believe in freedom, liberty, sound money and the constitution are prepared to support that with an actual political contribution or to volunteer their services and work on this campaign." He received over 10,000 donations and many e-mails from around the world.

After giving some hints on ''The Daily Show'' Schiff officially announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination on September 17, 2009, during the MSNBC ''Morning Joe'' show. By October 2009 Schiff had received more than 10,000 telephone calls and letters and raised over $1,960,000 (USD) in campaign contributions.

At the May 2010 Republican convention, Linda McMahon received the most delegate votes but not enough to prevent an August primary election. U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons received more than the required 15 percent of the total votes necessary to force the primary. Schiff then collected the signatures necessary to earn a position on the August 2010 GOP primary ballot, submitting at least 400 signatures over the state requirement.

In July 2010, Schiff's campaign received endorsements from Steve Forbes and Ron Paul.

In the Republican primary, held on August 10, 2010, Schiff lost the nomination to Linda McMahon.

The results were:

49% Linda McMahon

28% Rob Simmons

23% Peter Schiff

Ultimately, the election was won by the Democratic Party primary winner, Richard Blumenthal.

Recognition

In 2011 Peter Schiff was listed as one of the Who's Who of Wall Street

Books

Peter Schiff is the author of five books published by John Wiley & Sons. His book, ''Crash Proof 2.0'', appeared on both the ''New York Times'' and ''Wall Street Journal'' bestseller lists.

''Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse'', February 2007, ISBN 978-0-470-04360-8 1

''The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets: How to Keep your Portfolio Up When the Market is Down'', 2008, ISBN 978-0-470-38378-0 2

''Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit From the Economic Collapse, 2nd Edition'', September 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-47453-2 3

''The Little Book of Bull Moves, Updated and Expanded: How to Keep Your Portfolio Up When the Market Is Up, Down, Or Sideways'', 2010, ISBN 0470643994 4

''How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes'', 2010, ISBN 978-0-470-52670-5 5

Notes

References

External links

Euro Pacific Capital US Brokerage Firm Website

Euro Pacific Precious Metals Coin Company Website

Schiff for Senate Official Campaign Website

Peter Schiff Online, Official book site for Peter Schiff

Peter Schiff radio, Schiff's daily radio show

Peter Schiff blog

The Peter Schiff Blog

Social media

Peter Schiff's Official YouTube channel

Category:American economics writers Category:American economists Category:American finance and investment writers Category:American Jews Category:American libertarians Category:American money managers Category:Austrian School economists Category:Classical liberals Category:Connecticut Republicans Category:Financial analysts Category:Libertarian economists Category:Microeconomists Category:People from New Haven, Connecticut Category:People from New York City Category:Stock and commodity market managers Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:Writers from Connecticut Category:1964 births Category:Living people

cs:Peter Schiff da:Peter Schiff de:Peter Schiff (Ökonom) es:Peter Schiff fr:Peter Schiff nl:Peter D. Schiff (econoom) ja:ピーター・シフ pl:Peter Schiff pt:Peter Schiff fi:Peter Schiff uk:Пітер Шифф