There aren’t any words for the spectacle I just witnessed on CNBC, an interview by Maria Bartiromo with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal abn Saud.
Even the talking heads are struggling with the theatrics we just witnessed.
Got to give the girl props, though, for the ability to stay focused; Maria Bartiromo just kept at it, in spite of one of the most bizarre interviews she’s had since who knows when. Heck, even Palin wasn’t this freaky when Bartiromo interviewed her this summer.
Believe it’s the first time I’ve seen Prince Alwaleed without his ghutra an iqal headgear; he was interviewed on a remote basis at what must have been the wee morning hours in Saudi Arabia. In the background can be seen kneeling camels and Arabian horses, the prince seated on an upholstered chair in what appears to be a dimly lit stable. Or was it?
The topic at hand was Citigroup, in which Prince Alwaleed now owns a 5 percent stake after increasing his holdings in the organization last week during the corporation’s steep slide. Alwaleed was the largest single shareholder prior to the increase in ownership at 4 percent.
During the course of the interview, Alwaleed trashed former Citigroup CEO Chuck Prince, calling him a great guy but a lousy CEO; he also maintained that the current CEO, Vikram Pandit, was doing a fine job but simply needed more time. The folks at CNBC were blown away by the bluntness and by the rational — as if the mess as Citigroup started only when Chuck Prince came on board, and was eased considerably when Prince left. The panel was left to do little more than stutter at the content and nature of the interview, a mini-one-man-one-ring circus
After all the craziness had passed, it dawned on me:
We just propped up this Saudi prince’s holdings with our bailout of Citigroup.
And yet we can’t afford to bailout the American auto industry and the 5-plus million jobs that it supports?
[I'll put up a link to video as soon as it's available from CNBC. It's Must-See TV.]
Link to the video is here at CNBC.
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that’s one rather large Bingo! isn’t it ?
nicely done there firedog
thanx for this post rayne, will go to see as soon as I get a faster connection
Still shaking my head over the whole thing.
Is the man really that much of a showman that he can make people forget he just picked their pockets?
I had it on while I was working, only paying half attention, but it was so bizarre I stopped what I was doing — are those camels wandering around in the background?
yep, they sure were.
Even the people at CNBC were stunned by how truly weird the whole thing was.
I’m sure it’s a typo, but I thought I’d point out a spelling error in the Prince’s last name: Ibn Saud not abn Saud.
The royals inhabit a different kingdom than the rest of the Suadis; oil prices never seem to change that.
And my typo is corrected as Saudis. Sheesh…
I’ve had to watch it 3 times now…it’s like a train wreck, can’t stop it, can’t help but watch with morbid fascination.
What was he really trying to say?
Thanks, I’ll fix it now, don’t know how I missed it.
Oh foo, the editing feature must lock down after some period of time, can’t edit that typo, sorry.
Oh cool, it looks like Maria Bartiromo is in Dubai.
Well, CNBC has spelled his name “bin” instead of “ibn” so it’s neither here nor there, but I’ve seen it both ways.
If I may ask, what about the interview are you trying to grasp? The background and his dress? I’m from there, if you’d like me to offer my opinion on the cultural semiotics
The entire interview came across as theatrical, as if some other message was being conveyed but buried under some rather distracting content. The talking heads were as surprised as I was at the forcefulness of the rejection of former Citi CEO Chuck Prince; it seemed far less diplomatic than I would have expected, as if there was some other message there but obscured by the in-your-face delivery. The “set” used for the interview also seemed deliberately chosen — but to what end?
What did you make of it?
Meet the new boss?
Not to make light, but I was really reminded of Father Guido Sarducci from vintage SNL…just the tone and the prayer beads.
It didn’t seem overly staged to me, just because I know men of that region and generation really are at home outdoors with their animals. I thought that didn’t translate well, and the set came across as foreign not outdoorsy.
As for the content of the interview, I think he can say whatever he wants now, but his PR totally failed him.
He’s wearing his riding clothes, with a riding crop between his legs. Looks like they’ve set him up outside his tent and in front of his steeds.
Reminds me somewhat of Omar Sharif in “Lawrence….”
al-Aurens!! al-Aurens!!
OT — Watched that a few weeks ago. Now there’s a picture. Ravishing.
The genesis of my interest in the Middle East.
Yup, and IIRC the NYT or the Economist reported back in July about Abu Dhabi purchasing a share of Citi via their sovereign wealth fund, although I must apologize b/c I don’t have a link. Perhaps someone with a Lexis/Nexis connection can locate it.
Jan 11 2008, The Economist: Chinese, Saudi to invest in CitiBank:
Bit of history there, it seems.
Yeah, knew that, probably more and deeper than that, too.
Can’t help but wonder if this is how they are ridding the books of “toxic assets” — by offloading them at firesale rates to the Saudis and Chinese who have no choice but to buy them up in order to keep their own finances from imploding.
Might be another explanation as to why there’s been no effort to prop up the value of the underlying assets with a foreclosure moratorium and systematic renegotiation of mortgages.