Hillary is joining Buffett in the "Let's tax the rich even more" category. I feel like the harder I work and the more money I make, the more the government wants. Give me a flat tax where everyone pays the same and I'll be happy. I don't want to pay less, I just want to pay the same percentage. Sounds fair to me. Enough rant, here are the highlights.

SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON TELLS FOX BUSINESS NETWORK
SHE MIGHT CONSIDER LETTING CUTS IN CAPITAL GAINS TAXES EXPIRE

In a television interview with FOX Business Network’s Liz Claman, Senator Hillary Clinton and Warren Buffett, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway, discuss the possibility of a tax increase in a slowing economy in their first-ever interview together following their record-breaking, day-long fundraising event in San Francisco.

Courtesy FOX Business Network:

On whether she would let cuts in capital gains taxes expire:
“I am more focused on preventing the repeal of the estate tax and returning to what I think are fairer, more effective tax rates for the wealthiest. There may be an argument to be made, which I would be open to but I think you need to look at the entire tax picture. There isn’t any credible argument that the taxes under the Bush administration have gone down disproportionately on high-income investors and earners.”

On whether she would raise taxes in a slowing economy:
“I’m not going to stand in the way of the Bush tax cuts on the highest income earners being sunsetted and that may come as a natural course because I don’t believe we’d have support in the Congress and I certainly would not support putting the lower tax rates into place.”

“I think we would have to have stimulus and there are a variety of ways of looking at and packaging stimulus. I do want to see more support for middle-class families, for working people. I think the tax code has disproportionately advantaged those of us who are frankly well off.”

“While people like my husband and I have enjoyed a great series of gifts from the Bush administration that is not what has happened to the vast majority of Americans.”

“If we’re looking at an economic slowdown, then I want as broad a base set of stimulus policies as we can get.”

“What I have said is that I want to target any tax increases, or loss of tax benefits, to people making more than $250,000.”

“We need more fairness in our tax system. It has been too tilted towards the wealthiest among us. If you go back historically, you can really track how it has become more and more advantageous to be well-off in America. I don’t think that’s good for us either economically or politically…We need to get back to looking at tax policies that benefit the vast majority of Americans.”

On the economy:
“People are concerned. If you combine what’s happening in the housing market with the stagnant job growth, with the increasing costs while family incomes are basically flat, with worries about the global economy and the declining dollar – you piece all of that together and there’s a growing insecurity about what’s going to happen.”

To view the video Go HERE

PRESIDENT BUSH IS INTERVIEWED ON FOX NEWS.

Thanks to Fox Business for providing us the full transcript below

I'm glad to see the President adamant about keeping taxes lower. I agree with him in saying that the economy is strong. I don't agree that it will come around on its own. Read the transcript and judge for yourself.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH TELLS FOX BUSINESS NETWORK THAT HIS BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IS NOT GETTING A SOCIAL SECURITY PACKAGE

In a television exclusive with FOX Business Network’s David Asman, President George W. Bush talks about his biggest disappointment while in office, his effort to promote democracy in Pakistan, making the tax code “more progressive”, and his expectations that the weak dollar will grow stronger. Excerpts are below. The full transcripts is below

On what Bush considers his biggest disappointment:

“The biggest disappointment is not getting a Social Security package, Social Security reform, because that truly is the big deficit issue. I'm sorry it didn't happen. I laid out a plan to make it happen, to enable it to happen. I'm the first president to have addressed it as specifically as I did. I wish Congress wasn't so risk-averse on the issue.”

On democracy in Pakistan:

“He's [Musharraf] agreed to hold elections in January, and he's agreed to take his uniform off. And our judgment is, is that the sooner he can suspend his emergency decree, the faster Pakistan gets back on the road to democracy. And it's an ever-changing situation. And if you follow the news, as I know you do, it's changing all the time.”

“And our purpose, of course, is to promote a democracy in Pakistan, and at the same time as a valuable ally in fighting the extremists, who have tried to kill President Musharraf three or four times.”

“He understands the stakes of the war, and I do believe he understands the importance of democracy.”

On making the tax cuts more progressive:

“We felt like that the tax cuts I passed would make the tax code more progressive rather than less progressive, and made that case.”

“Now, a lot of people didn't want to hear it because they didn't want us to lower taxes in the first place. But the tax code is now more progressive than it was in the past, prior to the tax cuts.”

On the weak dollar:

“Well, we have a strong dollar policy, and it's important for the world to know that. We also believe it's important for the market to set the -- to set the value of the dollar relative to other currencies. And if people would look at the strength of our economy, they'd realize why, you know, I believe that the dollar will be stronger. And it is low inflation, low interest, 15 months of uninterrupted job growth, 3.9 percent GDP growth in the third quarter.”

Here is the full transcript

QUESTION: Appreciate you coming to talk to me.

BUSH: Good to be with you.

QUESTION: You call yourself a supply sider. You speech today was all about tax cuts. But were even you surprised at how much revenue came into the Treasury when you lowered those tax rates?

BUSH: I felt like a growing economy would yield more tax revenues.

I wasn't certain how much. And if you look at our budget projections, we constantly undershot.

And so not only was I pleased, but I think the, you know, the budgeteers were surprised at how much more revenues came in than anticipated.

The key, of course, is to keep the economy growing by keeping taxes low. But the additional revenue should not be used an excuse to expand government. It ought to be used to pay down debt and reduce the deficit and that sort of thing.

QUESTION: Now, in addition to bringing in more revenue, the rich, surprisingly, are paying more tax revenue. They were encouraged to get into the economy as the rates went down. Does that surprise you?

BUSH: Not really. We felt like that the tax cuts I passed would make the tax code more progressive rather than less progressive, and made that case.

Now, a lot of people didn't want to hear it because they didn't want us to lower taxes in the first place. But the tax code is now more progressive than it was in the past, prior to the tax cuts.

QUESTION: If you listen to Charlie Rangel and some others in the Democratic Party, they say, no way. They say that income distribution is greater than it ever has been, we need new tax increases in order to equalize the income in the United States. Do you have anything to tell them?

BUSH: I tell them that if you're interested in raising taxes, you can find any excuse to do so. But I also tell them that raising taxes would be bad for the economy. We don't need to be taking money out of the pockets of investors and savers and consumers.

Secondly, I would tell them that I would much rather have the American people spend their money than the federal government.

And thirdly, I tell them, if we'd only set priorities, if the Democrats in Congress would be willing to set priorities, you'll find that we got ample money to meet our needs.

QUESTION: Now, you say -- you talked about spending. A lot of folks put some blame on you, particularly conservative folks, saying you spent too much (OFF-MIKE) Republicans (OFF-MIKE)?

What do you say?

BUSH: I say that I think you look at the facts. First of all, we did spend money, but it's primarily to make sure our military had what it takes to do the job. And we spend money to protect this homeland.

But on non-defense discretionary spending, we actually reduced the amount of spending for the first time (OFF-MIKE) history. Certainly the first time recently, anyway -- and that we reduced our deficit dramatically and by growing the economy, being wise about spending money

-- now look, in my first six years, I had had a Congress with whom I could reach budget agreements, and they hit our top line every year.

And so, there was -- I didn't have to veto bills because I didn't like the slices of the pie. But in so doing, you're going to make it harder to negotiate the size of the pie the next time.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) to sign bills that you have these bridges to nowhere in it (OFF-MIKE)?

BUSH: Absolutely. It was. And that's why I argued for the line-item veto. Again, you see, when you negotiate a budget bill, if somebody says, "I'm going to meet your top line," and they meet your top line, there's no big pieces to the pie that I don't like; no question about it.

But I wanted to make sure that I was in the negotiating session into next year. If I had vetoed a bill when they met the top line, they'd say, "Why wouldn't you negotiate with?" It didn't do us any good, and I wanted to make sure at least we started getting down to reducing the deficit, which we've done.

By the way, the deficit, today, is about $1.2 percent of GDP, which is low.

To put it in perspective, I think, the last year of President Reagan's term, it was over 2 percent. And now it's 1.2 percent.

And so, yeah, we've got -- you know, (OFF-MIKE) for Medicare

(OFF-MIKE) for example, which I was (OFF-MIKE) to sign because it modernized the system for...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BUSH: Absolutely. It modernized a medical system for our seniors.

We have made a promise to our seniors, and this bill modernized the program (OFF-MIKE) prescription drugs ought to be a part of your health care.

He wouldn't like that, because it was too expensive, and it was expensive, but having said that, we have reduced the deficit dramatically.

And that's really a measure of whether or not there's fiscal (OFF-MIKE).

QUESTION: The Republicans ran a (OFF-MIKE) government, the, sort of, the Ronald Reagan brand of really cutting back spending tremendously.

Has that brand been diluted at all through your administration?

BUSH: I think there's a -- I think when people look at the facts, they'll realize that we've done a remarkable job of cutting taxes.

We've raised (OFF-MIKE). We've reduced our deficit dramatically. We've overcome recession. And we're fighting a war.

I mean, we've got a lot of good people in harm's way, and we have had, since the liberation of Afghanistan and, of course, Iraq, and yet this government is funding that war. And it's expensive, as it should be. We don't want our kids going in there with lack of equipment or, you know -- when we find equipment shortfalls, we've addressed them.

And we've done all that and reduced the deficit.

So when people take an objective look, a stand-back look at whether or not, you know, we've handled the fiscal side of the equation, well, they're going to say, yes, we have, unless, of course, you believe in bigger government and more taxes, in which case they'll give me low marks because I'm resisting tax increases.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) back your funds on the supply side, your dad used to call that "voodoo economics." Has he changed his mind now?

BUSH: I haven't asked him. But if he looks at the facts, he'll realize that you can cut taxes, grow the economy, increase tax revenues. And the key is to make sure that, on the spending side, that you're disciplined.

QUESTION: You know, if he can (OFF-MIKE) he can change his mind on something like that.

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: He's something else, isn't he?

QUESTION: He sure is.

The dollar....

BUSH: Yes.

QUESTION: A lot of folks are worried that it's fallen too far. Is there anything more that you can do, as president, to assure the world that the dollar should maintain its value and increase in value?

BUSH: Well, we have a strong dollar policy, and it's important for the world to know that. We also believe it's important for the market to set the -- to set the value of the dollar relative to other currencies. And if people would look at the strength of our economy, they'd realize why, you know, I believe that the dollar will be stronger. And it is low inflation, low interest, 15 months of uninterrupted job growth, 3.9 percent GDP growth in the third quarter.

I mean, the underpinnings are strong. Now, we in the U.S.

government, my administration, believe the market ought to set the relation of the dollar to other currencies.

QUESTION: Even if the dollar is weak -- excuse me, if the economy is weak, shouldn't the dollar be strong?

BUSH: Well, all I can tell you is, is that the policy of this government is a strong dollar, and that we believe that the marketplace is the best place to set the exchange rates.

QUESTION: So you're satisfied with the exchange rates as they are now?

BUSH: Well, I am satisfied with the fact that we have a strong dollar policy and know that the market ought to be setting the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and other currencies.

QUESTION: Housing.

BUSH: Yes.

QUESTION: Big problem now, a lot of foreclosures. What should the federal government do, if anything, to help those folks who have the adjustable rate mortgages who suddenly have a big uptick in their mortgage?

BUSH: Well, the federal government should help people renegotiate loans by encouraging the nonprofit NGOs to reach out to those who have had these adjustable rate mortgages to explain to them that there's an opportunity to refinance their homes if they're creditworthy.

Secondly, the federal government ought to change tax policy that says if you renegotiate your loan, you get paid -- you have to pay an extra tax.

Loan forgiveness through renegotiation is a taxable event. If you're trying to help people stay in their homes you shouldn't be taxing them when they renegotiate their mortgage.

Thirdly, we ought to modernize FHA, the Federal Housing Authority, so that people who qualify are able to get help in refinancing their mortgages. Look, we have to do everything we can to help people stay in their homes without bailing out lenders. And I was willing to help the person that borrowed the money, and those are three constructive ways to do so.

QUESTION: Some of the folks who are borrowing money at these adjustable rates were -- had plans to flip the house (OFF-MIKE).

Can you separate out the speculators from the real families who...

BUSH: Yes, yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. And we should. And the best place to separate that out is, of course, through the lender, as the lender sits down with families, with U.S. guidance, to renegotiate

-- that they'll be able to determine the difference between somebody who had a primary home and speculators who came in, took advantage of what looked like (OFF-MIKE).

QUESTION: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- do you have plans for the Treasury to oversee those organizations?

BUSH: Well, that's exactly part of our reform package that was submitted to Congress. We think that OFHEO ought to regulate them, not because I'm such a pro-regulation guy, but I do think they ought to be playing on the same field as other lenders.

And we ought to make sure we understand the products that get (OFF-MIKE).

QUESTION: Iraq. Can you switch to Iraq now?

BUSH: Sure.

QUESTION: Foreign policy. The surge, is it working?

BUSH: Yes. And it's measurable. Whereas violence is declining and the attitudes of people are changing -- when people have more security, they're more willing to forego hedging their bets, affiliation to violent groups, and willing to reach out and reconcile with their neighbor.

I've always believed that most people want to live in peace. An Iraqi mom wants to raise her child in peace, and that, if given the chance -- given what looks like a secure future -- that people will make the necessary changes to live in a -- coexist with somebody else that may be, you know, an adversary, in a peaceful way. And that's what you're seeing. The politics hasn't followed as quickly as I'd have liked, at the federal level, although they are passing law and they are sharing potential revenues with the provinces.

But the amazing thing is what's happening at the grassroots level, where Sunni sheiks and Shia sheiks are coming together and trying to forge a future that is hopeful for their people.

And national politics will eventually follow local politics, by the way.

QUESTION: Now, when Democratic leaders, like Nancy Pelosi and particularly Senator Harry Reid, say that the war is lost...

BUSH: Yes.

QUESTION: How does that affect the war effort?

BUSH: Well, I was saddened when I heard that. Because you've got kids in harm's way who are risking their lives. And leaders have got to be very careful about the words they use.

We don't want somebody out there risking their life, thinking that it's not worth it.

After all, these kids volunteered knowing full well that it's best to defeat an enemy overseas so we don't have to face them home -- here at home -- and also understanding that, you know, the way to defeat an ideology of hate, an ideology of darkness, is with an ideology based upon hope, and that's freedom, and that a free society in Iraq or in Afghanistan or elsewhere in the world, or particularly in the Middle East, will serve as the great alternative to these killers that killed 3,000 of our people.

And so these kids are risking their lives. They volunteered in this cause, a noble, necessary cause, and then they hear voices saying we've

(ph) lost. As they sacrifice, it's counterproductive.

You know, you don't hear those voices, however, in Washington, now.

It's becoming apparent that the surge is working, that the plan -- to the point, by the way, where the commander on the ground has -- suggests that we can do the same amount of work with fewer troops, over time.

And so, look, words matter. And my words in particular matter. And I want our troops to understand that, if you're in harm's way, then I'm going to make decisions based upon the recommendations of our military commanders, not based upon politics or a Gallup poll. It's really important for those troops to understand that.

Secondly, Iraqis have got to understand that, while we want them to work hard at reconciliation and get some laws, so long as they're willing to do hard things, we're standing with them.

And third, the enemy's got to understand that politics isn't going to run George Bush out of Iraq.

QUESTION: Do you think you can wait too long to change strategies from the old strategy to the (OFF-MIKE)?

BUSH: It's an interesting question. Coming out of '05 -- you know, the lessons in '05 -- it looked like we were in pretty good shape.

Millions of people went to the polls. And then there was the lag in time for the Iraqis to get their governments to them, coupled with the fact that simmering violence began to boil over as the result of the Samarra mosque bombing.

And, you know, the -- I thought we didn't actually have less troops in Iraq, and then it became apparent we needed more.

QUESTION: Yes.

BUSH: Historians are going to have to judge whether or not we waited too long to move. The point is, we didn't.

You know, I used to tell people at the end of '06, at the run-up of

'06 -- of '06 -- the lessons had you asked me, I would have disapproved of Iraq (OFF-MIKE) endless approval polls.

I would have said, "Well, I disapprove. And I disapprove because we are winning." (OFF-MIKE) somebody in harm's way, we better have a strategy that succeeds.

In my case, I listened to advisors and, particularly, the military people, like General Petraeus and Secretary Gates, and said, "I don't approve."

And they said, "Well, here, let's try this." And that was asserted. And I do approve now.

QUESTION: Pakistan.

BUSH: Yes.

QUESTION: Musharraff has said, "Don't look at Pakistan with European eyes," stating to mean that democracy doesnt't work here. What do you tell Musharraf when you talk to him?

BUSH: Well, first of all, President Musharraf has got Pakistan on the road to democracy (OFF-MIKE). And when I talked to him, I said, "You got to get Pakistan back on the road to democracy as quickly as possible." And that means elections, and that means that, in my judgment, the road to democracy means you can't be the head of the military and the president at the same time.

He's agreed to hold elections in January, and he's agreed to take his uniform off. And our judgment is, is that the sooner he can suspend his emergency decree, the faster Pakistan gets back on the road to democracy. And it's an ever-changing situation. And if you follow the news, as I know you do, it's changing all the time (OFF-MIKE).

And our purpose, of course, is to promote a democracy in Pakistan, and at the same time as a valuable ally in fighting the extremists, who have tried to kill President Musharraf three or four times.

He understands the stakes of the war, and I do believe he understands the importance of democracy.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) telling me we've run out of time. Can I just...

BUSH: Sure.

QUESTION: ... one more?

I host a show called "Scoreboard" on the new Fox Business Channel, and we have hits and misses. What do you think, looking back, your greatest hit was, when you really hit one out of the park, and what do you think your greatest error (OFF-MIKE)?

BUSH: Well, I would rather go disappointments rather than errors.

The biggest disappointment is not getting a Social Security package (OFF-MIKE), Social Security reform, because that truly is the big deficit issue. I'm sorry it didn't happen. I laid out a plan to make it happen, to enable it to happen. I'm the first president to have addressed it as specifically as I did. I wish Congress wasn't so risk-averse on the issue.

Success, there's been a lot. Tax cutting. No Child Left Behind.

Medicare reform.

You know, I would say the advance of liberty. The working hard to secure the homeland from attack, putting in place, you know, tools necessary to protect us, and at the same time be strong in the advancement of liberty as a great alternative to an ideology of hate.

It's going to be hard, by the way, for -- it's going to take a while for history to analyze my administration. I'm not all that worried about the short-term scorecard. I read three books on Washington last year. My attitude is that, if they're still writing about number one, the 43rd guy doesn't need to worry about it.

QUESTION: We talked on Air Force One about restoring a sense of dignity to the office itself. Would you count that among your successes?

BUSH: History is going to have to judge. I do know that its important for the president to guard the institution of the presidency.

It's important to realize that the office is bigger than the person.

And that's what brings great stability to the United States. I go to work every day in the Oval Office. It's such a grand institution. It's been an honor to serve. I have fourteen more months. I'm going to give it my all.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir.

BUSH: Thank you very much.

END

FOX Business Network’s David Asman will conduct an exclusive interview with President George W. Bush, which will be presented on both FOX Business (4-5 PM ET) and America’s Nightly Scoreboard (7-8 PM ET) on Tuesday, November 13th.

Asman will speak to President Bush from Louisville, Kentucky about the spending battles and tax proposals in Congress, particularly the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). They will also discuss the current state of the economy, subprime losses and executive pay.

I will try and get a transcript of the interview. Anyone still like Bush? I still would like to hear what he has to say and if you'd like a copy of the transcript email me (email over to the left) I'll send you one if Fox is kind enough to let me have one

MANADALAY ENTERTAINMENT CHAIRMAN PETER GUBER TELLS FOX BUSINESS NETWORK THAT THE WRITER’S STRIKE COULD LAST UNTIL NEXT JUNE

In a broadcast exclusive with FOX Business Network’s Neil Cavuto, Mandalay Entertainment Chairman Peter Guber comments on Michael Eisner calling the writer’s strike “stupid,” on how long he thinks the strike will last and on who the strike is hurting most.

On Michael Eisner’s comments on the strike:

“Michael Eisner missed his career. He should have done standup. He’s very colorful. He’s a smart guy but he has an institutional bias…The reality is that some of what he has to say is right. Some strikes are stupid, but here, you have to think about the writers. They’re not thinking about the present. They’re really looking at the past and into the future. In the past, they made the negotiation too late for the DVD slice of the pie and they lived with that as that became the whole pie. Now, they look at the future and the pie’s not really fully there but they want to have their fork in the pan as it gets there. I think they understand fully that this is an opportunity to do it. The question is whether they can stay in the fight until all the way to maybe next June.”

On how long the strike will last:

“If they [the writers] wanted to play chicken – Thelma and Louis racing to the cliff – they might say something like unless you make a deal with us right now - knowing that the DGA stop date is in March and they don’t want the DGA negotiating for them - they would say make a deal with us now or we’re going to wait until June and we’re going to test whether or not you can really hang in…and whether you can forgo next year’s television series and go to the advertiser without any product, and I think they would be scared by that.”

On why this strike is different:

“The difference between now and twenty years ago, which is when the other big strike happened, which lasted almost five months and lost a half a billion dollars, everybody came back and the audience came back. Everyone thinks that’s the same here. Now, what’s going to happen is that you have two different forces that play for the audience? You have the Internet, which wasn’t there and you have video games.”

On who’s getting hurt:

“I think the audience will have some pain. It’s an equal opportunity abuser. The truth is, it’s more of a TV strike than a studio or motion picture strike. The studios have bulked up fop 2007. They knew this famine was coming. It’s more of a television strike at this point so the question is, if it goes long, will the studios and motion pictures feel it in 2009?”

On the pressure to go back to work:

“Pressure, pressure. Where does the pain stop and where does the joy start? Right now, everyone’s playing chicken and jockeying for position. Right now, there’s no robust leadership in the movie and network business. Maybe Chernin and Iger could come forward and twist everybody’s arms but somebody’s gotta lead the pack, and right now, I don’t see it happening.”

FORMER U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY PAUL O’NEILL TELLS FOX BUSINESS NETWORK THAT TALK ABOUT HAVING A GREAT MODEL FOR JUDGING RISK WAS ALL BOLOGNA

Fox Business Channel will be airing a great interview with Paul O'Neil at 3:45 today.

In a broadcast exclusive with FOX Business Network’s Liz Claman, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill talked about the significance of the subprime mortgage crisis, his thoughts on the weak dollar, recession and market volatility. Excerpts are below. The full transcript is available upon request.

On subprime:

“I think it’s a containable problem. The thing that is so interesting to me about subprime loans is that it is something that has been coming at us for a long time now. All the people I know in the financial community that were part of subprimes and no-document loans, had to have suspended their intelligence in order to believe that it was possible to make loans that had a remote chance of actually being good loans and not think that eventually the music was going to stop and somebody was going to be caught holding a lot of terribly bad paper. So all this talk about risk adjustment systems and we have this great model for judging risk was all bologna.”

On whether he’s nervous about the weak dollar:

“I’d rather the dollar was stronger than weaker. For me, the level of the dollar is an important market judgment about our economy relative to other economies in the world.”

“People are commenting, and I think this is true, that the underlying level of oil on a fundamentals basis is lower than 95 dollars but the market is trading at 95 dollars, and so there is a trading froth. And I think there is a trading froth between the US dollar and other currencies at the moment.”

“I don’t think there is much we can do about it [the weak dollar]. As secretary of the treasury I couldn’t say on camera like I can now. You know the whole idea of manipulated dollar to make it strong is crazy. All of the evidence over the centuries of countries trying to strengthen their currencies by buying it is madness.”

On recession:

“I don’t think we are in a recession now. I think this built quite a bit of underlying strength in our economy. Our financial markets hate uncertainty and what is going on right now is people not being very sure about where the bottom is.”

On market volatility:

“It’s a little unnerving to see last week a 362-point move in the Dow Jones Average in one day…I can almost remember when I was a student in college, the DJIA was 500 so when you see a 362 pt move in one day, do the plus or minus, it’s a little hard to get your mind around the idea we can have movement of that substance in a really short period of time. And then get it all back.”

On whether it’s particularly hard to be a CEO today:

“I don’t think so. If we did a random survey of 50 CEOs, almost every one of them wouldn’t trade their job for anything else. They wouldn’t want to be a junior lieutenant.”

On Rubin at Citigroup temporarily:

“I think they’re lucky that Bob is there. He’s been around Citi since 1991 I think…It’s important that they settle the issue of who is going to be the permanent successor as quickly as they can because a big organization like that is not favorably affected by uncertainty.

CIBC’S MEREDITH WHITNEY TELLS FOX BUSINES NETWORK THAT

CITIGROUP’S CAPITAL RATIOS WILL LOOK WORSE AFTER FOURTH QUARTER

courtesy Fox Business

Last week, Meredith Whitney, CIBC Senior Financial Analyst and FOX Business Network Contributor, downgraded Citigroup to “sector underperformer” from “sector performer,” driving the share price down 7 percent. Now, Citigroup’s CEO, Chuck Prince, has resigned. Today, Whitney sat down with FOX Business Network’s Tom Sullivan to talk about Citigroup’s outlook for the fourth quarter, why Citigroup’s strategy of becoming a more unified organization didn’t work, the status of Citigroup’s international divisions and what Citigroup needs to do now in light of these losses. Excerpts are below.

On Citigroup’s statement that they’ll maintain their dividends and be back to adequate capital levels by the second quarter:

“In our opinion, the numbers don’t add up. They’re taking an $8 billion to an $11 billion charge in the fourth quarter, which actually reduces their outstanding capital and we expect them to put more assets back on the balance sheet so their capital ratios are going to look worse after the fourth quarter and I think they’re going to be under pressure to cut that dividend.”

On Citigroup’s strategy of becoming a more unified company:

“The problem is that they just never invested in technology, and as a result, their equivalent of the mortgage business speaks Cantonese while their credit card division speaks Mandarin. They’re effectively running separate companies under one organization and, as a result, they don’t have any of the benefits from having these separate pods. So, good on paper, but not good on execution.”

On Citigroup’s international divisions:

“Let’s be fair here. Their international business isn’t making any money - their international consumer business, that is. They just bought Nikko Cordial and now Japan’s economic condition is subject to anyone’s guess. Their international divisions aren’t really growing, aren’t really making any money. They bought these international divisions for the sake of international revenues but the reality is that the US economy is slowing, particularly with the US consumers so the credit card business hasn’t grown in three or four years, and now the mortgage business, obviously because of the housing sector, isn’t growing, and now the capital markets business has all but ceased to grow. So, bad things all around are happening with the company.”

On what Citigroup needs to do now:

“This company basically has to spin-of assets because now the technology investment is so cost-prohibitive that they can’t do it as a consolidated entity.”

“No doubt they have to sell assets; no doubt they’re going to have to raise some sort of capital and both of those things will put pressure on earnings, which ultimately puts pressure on their ability to pay shareholders a dividend.”

BILL GROSS TELLS FOX BUSINESS NETWORK THAT HE’S SUSPICIOUS OF THIRD QUARTER GDP GROWTH

Courtesy of FoxBusiness

In a broadcast interview with FOX Business Network’s Liz Claman, Bill Gross, Founder and Managing Director of Pimco, the world’s biggest bond mutual fund, talks about his suspicion towards third quarter GDP growth, on who will benefit from the Fed’s rate cut and what he thinks the Fed’s next move will be. Excerpts are below.

On who will benefit from Fed rate cut:

“The big banks with their SIVS and conduits will benefit from 25 basis points in cuts and will continue to benefit more if the Fed cuts more in 2008, which is what I expect.”

On whether the Fed has staved off a recession:

“I think so. I’m not sure we were ever headed there because of the strong export numbers we’ve seen as recently as this morning and the continued weakness of the dollar, which supports that. It has been exports that have saved the day. Otherwise, when you have housing prices go down by five or ten percent on a national basis, you’re bound to have a recession. In this case, strong global growth has saved the day.”

On 3.9% GDP growth for third quarter:

“I’m a little suspicious of that 3.9 number because the nominal number, which is real plus inflation, was really only about 4.7%, which was lower than the market expected. The number that was released suggested that inflation was.8% in the third quarter and for all of us who have been around and pay prices, we know that inflation was more than .8% so I’m a little suspicious of that real number.”

On the Fed’s next move:

“I think the Fed probably pauses in December depending on housing and where those numbers are going. I think housing is headed down rapidly and the Fed will have to lower interest rates…Ultimately, I think they’re headed below 4%, particularly during cyclical downturns - not recessions – but periods of slow growth. They’ve had to lower Fed funds to what is known as a one percent real rate, which means one percent real rates plus inflation, which would suggest to me somewhere in the 3.5 % zone.”

On whether he trusts the government data released today:

“I think there are differences. Not to suggest a conspiracy here. This GDP number was a residual that came off the nominal number, which was 4.7% and somehow it turned out to be 3.9 real. I don’t really think that’s the case. I think there was more inflation than .8% and, ultimately, going forward, real GDP is somewhere in the 1-2% zone as opposed to the high three’s.”

SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, CARLOS GUTIERREZ, TELLS FOX BUSINESS NETWORK EXPORTS WERE A BIG CONTRIBUTOR TO 3.9% GDP GROWTH

courtesy of FoxBusiness

In a broadcast interview with FOX Business Network’s Cheryl Casone, Secretary Gutierrez, talks about strong third quarter GDP growth and how free trade pacts with Columbia, China and other countries will benefit everyone. Excerpts are below.

Casone: “This morning, the Commerce Department reported that the economy grew at an annual rate of 3.9% in the third quarter despite rising oil prices and the credit crunch. That is the fastest pace in 18 months.”

On GDP growth:

“We saw strength across the board. The only part that drove down growth as we know is residential construction. Non-residential construction was up. Consumer spending was up three percent, which is a strong quarter. Our exports were a big contributor to GDP growth and that’s why it’s so important to get these FTA’s passed and get going on opening up more markets for our exports.”

On Free Trade pacts:

“They should go through. You mentioned Peru and Columbia. Right now those countries are coming into the US duty free. The Congress has given them preferences. The only thing we’re asking for is to give the same preference to our exporters, our manufacturers, our farmers and workers to level the playing field. It’s very straight forward and we should pass those free trade agreements as soon as possible, especially now that we’re seeing the benefits of those exports to our economy.”

On trade with Columbia:

We did something called Plan Columbia under President Clinton, which started under President Bush. We put $5.5bn dollars in investment behind their military, intelligence and social programs to help them improve, and they have improved. They will improve even more with a free trade agreement…We don’t want to see drugs coming into the US so it’s to our benefit. An FTA will help them improve their economy. I see no benefit to anyone of not approving the FTA. If we’re willing to put $5.5bn dollars into their country to help improve them, we should be willing to approve an FTA.”

On trade with China:

“We’re working very closely with the Chinese government and one of the big topics on the agenda for our meeting in December will be product safety. They have a big stake in this…They are an exporting country, an exporting economy. They cannot afford to have the ‘Made in China’ brand tarnished…The American people should know that this is the number one topic on the agenda for our meeting in December.”

MEL KARMAZIN TELLS FOX BUSINESS NETWORK THAT STAN O’NEAL “HAS DONE A FINE JOB”

In a broadcast interview with FOX Business Network’s Neil Cavuto, Mel Karmazin, Sirius Satellite Radio CEO, talks about Stan O’Neal’s departure from Merrill Lynch, the Sirius/XM merger and his attempted merger with CNN while at CBS. Below are the excerpts.

On whether the Sirius / XM merger will be approved:

“Yes, our stock went down today and our investor relations people told me that there was a disappointment that we weren’t able to get more clarity on where we see the merger. I told them the merger will happen. I believe the merger will happen at the end of this year. In February, February 19th, we announced the merger. It’s been almost ten months since we announced it and we think that the regulators are paying attention to it, looking at it and I hope that it will get done by the end of the year. I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t.”

On what will happen if the merger isn’t approved:

“I believe that Sirius goes on and continues to do its business plan. We announced today that we will be free cash-flow positive in the fourth quarter. Our losses are shrinking. We will be free cash-flow positive probably faster than cable television and satellite television.”

On former Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O’Neal:

“I think that they have every right decide if they want to make a change and he has every right to resign if he wants to. I know him. I think he’s done a fine job and he’s a fine executive…I believe that there will be others and I didn’t think he’d be the first. I think there was an unfair amount on conversation today about his compensation. He didn’t get anything for being fired or exiting. All of the money he will leave with is money he earned during his tenure at the firm and the board of directors decided that that was the appropriate compensation for him.”

On his attempted merger with CNN while at CBS News:

“One of the things I tried to do is to take the CBS News organization, which is a great news organization and a very expensive operation and tried to combine that with CNN where we would have a 24-hour news channel. We would have saved significant amounts of information in the newsgathering.”

“If I were Disney or CBS and I didn’t have a cable network and I had a news organization, how could I not be thinking about the benefits that could be accrued for shareholders by combining CNN with one of those news organizations?”

On FOX Business Network:

“I think Rupert Murdoch is a very smart person and Roger Ailes is a very smart person and the reason they would want to do it is because they believe they could make money. This isn’t going to be a quick way to make a lot of money, but over time, think about the amount of money that FOX News Channel is making.”

GIULIANI TELLS NEIL CAVUTO THAT A $1 TRILLION TAX INCREASE
“WILL DO TREMENDOUS DAMAGE TO THE GROWTH OF THIS ECONOMY”

Courtesy of Fox and Your World with Neil Cavuto

In a broadcast exclusive with Neil Cavuto, Republican presidential candidate, Rudy Giuliani, talks about Stan O’Neal’s pay package, what an increase in taxes will do to our economy, and Charlie Rangel’s proposed tax plan. The complete interview will air on FNC’s Your World w/ Neil Cavuto today at 4PM ET. Segments of the interview will also air on FBN’s Cavuto today at 6PM ET.

Below are the excerpts.

ON FORMER MERRILL LYNCH CEO, STAN O’NEAL’S, PAY PACKAGE:
“We're great because we have a tremendously great free market and private market. And owners and shareholders have to decide what the pay is. If they want to pay people too much, they're the owners, they're the shareholders; they can do it… that's a much better way for our economy to grow than a bunch of sectional (ph) planners in Washington saying, well, that should be somebody's pay and that should be somebody's pay.”

ON RAISING TAXES:
“Any increase in capital gains right now will cost the government money. And they're [Democrats] not telling you this. The last time we raised the capital gains tax, from 20 to 28 percent, the government lost $45 billion.”

“Capital gains, corporate tax, marginal tax rates should all be lowered competitively. The inheritance tax should be done away with. We should give the death penalty to the death tax. What I just said to you is not only my approach and my program, that happens to be the program of the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy.”

ON CHARLIE RANGEL’S PROPOSED TAX PLAN:
“I respect Charlie Rangel for doing it. I think he set forth Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and John Edwards's dreams. I mean, this is what they want to do…Well, he put the price tag on their promises… None of them rejected it, because they're going to do it. And they're going to do it more than they're saying.”

“A $1 trillion tax increase will do tremendous damage to the growth of this economy. It shows a complete lack of understanding of how a global economy works.”

If you would like the whole transcipt, email me and I will send it to you