06 Nov 08 PFIZER CHAIRMAN AND CEO TO FBN: PASS THE BAILOUT PLAN NOW

Gang,

Jeff Kindler, Chairman and CEO of Pfizer (PFE) joined me exclusively on Fox Business’ Bulls and Bears show today to say his business is already being affected by the mortgage and subprime disaster and that Congress should pass the rescue plan being put forth by Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke without delay. Kindler and I took the stage at Radio City Music Hall in NYC this afternoon to speak before the World Business Forum which Fox Business is co-sponsoring. The audience of 5,000 was riveted by his thoughts on the crisis, particularly when he talked about how this kind of financial nightmare actually causes people to skimp on, of all things, their own health care. (Unrelated, today the head of world’s number-2 truck maker Volvo said the turmoil is already having a major impact in Europe).

Kindler talked extensively about the 2011 patent expiration of their blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor and how he believes Pfizer is ready with a whole host of new drugs in the pipeline, particularly in the cancer realm. We also got him to comment on Pfizer’s inhaled lung medication Spiriva and how some researchers say it raises the risk of heart attack, stroke and death from heart disease. The short end of it is that Pfizer stands by the medication.

By the way, inside scoop: during one of the lighter moments when we were on stage, he even joked about Pfizer’s super-star drug Viagra, saying, “I’m taking it!”

For a lawyer whose doctor-father wished his son had become a surgeon, Kindler jokes, “I told my dad, ‘At least I’m selling medicine. Does that count?’”

Please listen to our discussion… I think you’ll find him engaging and focused on growing Pfizer, no matter how challenging the financial climate becomes.

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06 Nov 08 Hillary Clinton to FBN: “Everyone Needs to Take a Breath.”

Hi Gang,

Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) joined us on Countdown to the Closing Bell to explain that while Congress needs to move quickly on Treasury’s $700 billion dollar bailout plan, it also needs to move efficiently and if that means taking a bit more time to get it right, then so be it.

After meeting with the head of the New York Fed (which sure has been busy since facilitating the ‘orderly’ implosion of Bear Stearns (BSC) back in March…), she stepped outside to tell us that everyone in New York needs to take a breath and stay calm, that we’ll get through this. She told me she’s spoken to Senator Barack Obama and that he has a solid grasp of the situation. Both Democrats and Republicans want more details in the 2 1/2 page plan. Don’t you? It’s YOUR money! See the clip of our interview below.

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06 Nov 08 Warren Buffett and David Sokol: Smartest Guys in the Room

Hey Gang,

Amidst all this financial drama, two guys kept their heads while everyone on Wall Street was losing theirs: David Sokol, Chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings and Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of MidAmerican’s parent company Berkshire Hathaway (BRK). While the Wall Street gang was desperately following each ‘tick’ of the government’s moving-target plan that seemed to change hour by hour, these two guys made a few phone calls to each other in Omaha and worked up a quickie plan to scoop up Constellation Energy (CEG), which had fallen dramatically in the previous days. They bought CEG for $4.7 billion dollars, or $26.50 a share. David Sokol gave us the details in person exclusively yesterday (see clip below).

Constellation was a $60-dollar stock last year. It fell to the mid-$20s and trading of the shares actually had to be halted once in the past few days on worries it had too much exposure to Lehman’s (LEH) problems. The Sokol-Buffett team had been following CEG for years, watching their competitor like a hawk. Clearly they’ve admired it from afar, were perfectly aware of what problems might (or might not be!) be there and were waiting for just this moment which Treasury, Wall Street and the Fed handed to them on a platinum (forget silver!) platter at a severely discounted price.

David Sokol kindly rushed uptown to Fox Business’ studios from meetings downtown to give us the moment-by-moment drama of how it all came down. I want you to hear the story because it sends a great message that you’ve no doubt heard before: It’s important that when everyone else around you is losing their heads, be sure to KEEP YOURS.

Warren Buffett once told me when I asked him why he doesn’t live in New York City, the so-called “Financial Capital of the World,” “Liz, I chose to stay in Omaha rather than New York because by the time the clock struck noon on any given day, I’d had 19 ‘great tips’ whispered in my ear and none of them were really great.” By staying away, he’s gotten closer than anyone else on the planet to what all those guys on Wall Street really want: Money and Success. But he’s the first to say it doesn’t come without guys like Sokol at your side. Listen in on our interview. I think you’ll find it awfully interesting.