American Morning
Frank: Bonuses not deserved
AIG's Edward Liddy is facing a potential firing squad on Capitol Hill today. The CEO who's been at the helm of AIG for the past 6 months will answer questions about the bonus outrage.
Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, joined us live from Capitol Hill.
Grocery cash crunch
If you gone to the store lately and wondered why in this weakening economy the prices for things like cereal or bread haven't gone down..
We've got some answers for you.
Commentary: "We owe you more"
From Jill Schlesinger, Financial Advisor – Special to CNN's American Morning
Editor’s note: Jill Schlesinger, a certified financial planner, is executive vice president and chief investment officer of StrategicPoint Investment Advisors, which is based in Providence, Rhode Island.
I appeared on CNN's "American Morning" at 7:30 am today, ostensibly to provide commentary about the payment by beleaguered insurance giant AIG of $165 million in bonuses for last year. The interview turned into a brawl as the other guest vilified me and all of Wall Street for the AIG bonuses – in his mind, the compensation issue was in fact the root of the whole financial crisis. I did not get the opportunity to talk about what is missing from that analysis.
I came off the set thinking that we owe you more than a divisive, populist shouting match. Analysts, broadcasters and journalists of varied stripes owe you the nuance of the story, not just the headlines. We need to find the space between the poles that divide us so that we can discuss and understand the grey areas of this complicated and important subject – that is where the truly important policy decisions lie and where the impact on our economic future can be found. So here is the grey area surrounding the AIG bonus/Wall Street compensation story that I was not given the chance to articulate this morning.
'Pay what you want' cafe
All this week we're breaking down the global recession with our "Road to Rescue" coverage.
But we're not just looking at the problems, but talking to people with solutions.
Yesterday, we told you about an Ohio cafe where business is booming... with a "pay what you want" menu.
Sam Lippert – the cafe's owner – joined us live to tell us how it's going
Bad hair days
The roots are growing in. The extensions are coming out. And the era of super-expensive haircuts is now like your 401K—a thing of the past. This immutable reality has salon owners across the country biting their nails as more and more clients decide to skimp on beauty treatments.
“We haven’t seen it this bad in the 22-years we have been,” said the owner of the J.Sisters, a high-end salon in Manhattan, where hair extensions will run you anywhere from $1500 to $3000 and Brazilian bikini waxes (their specialty) are $75.
“People are scared.” It’s no better on the West Coast, according to stylist-to-the-stars Jose Eber. “I’ve been in Beverly Hills for 30 years and it’s never been this bad.”
Salon owners say that clients are stretching the weeks between treatments. “They don’t come as often,” said Eber. “Instead of 4-6 weeks, it’s 10-12 weeks.” And they’re cutting back on everything from blowouts to hairweaves.
Women on Wall Street
“When I got that tap on the shoulder I just was flabbergasted. I was amazed.”
Brittany Sharpton recalled the day last November when she was laid off from her job as an infrastructure analyst at Citigroup. When the 23-year-old joined the investment firm in 2007 she envisioned rising up through the ranks and becoming a senior manager. Instead, she was handed a pink slip, and according to Sharpton, every woman in her group was let go.
“There was just absolutely no discretion, no regard not only with performance but keeping a generation of women in the group,” Sharpton said.
Susan Antilla, who wrote about sexual discrimination on Wall Street in “Tales from the Boom-Boom Room,” is not surprised. She says historically whenever there’s a recession, women on Wall Street lose their jobs.
“Inevitably, we have downturns, and the downturn comes and whack, they’re gone.”
About this Show
Welcome to the American Morning blog where you can get daily news updates from American Morning's reporters and producers. Join us for "the most news in the morning," weekdays from 6-9 a.m. ET, only on CNN.
On Twitter
