SOME newswomen covering a serious subject like business would feel insulted to be known by the nickname “Money Honey,” but CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo thinks it’s “endearing.”
Jay Leno asked her about it on “The Tonight Show.”
“Now, I should explain – you don’t call yourself this silly name, the Money Honey,” Jay said when she sat down in the guest chair, after he introduced her as “the Money Honey of Wall Street.”
“I do not, I do not, ” answered Maria, who wore a blue, reptile-print keyhole halter, wide-legged black bell-bottom slacks and black stiletto heels.
“The New York tabloids came up with it,” she said of the nickname, “but it’s sort of endearing. I mean, it’s cute.”
Jay then asked her if she thought it was unfair that there was no male business-news personality with the nickname “Stock Stud.”
“You know, there are some studs at CNBC,” Maria said.
“Really!” exclaimed Jay.
“A lot,” she answered. “Joe Kernan, David Faber – we’ve got studs!”
“Oh, yeah,” Jay replied sarcastically, noting the silence of the audience: “I can see the women going nuts!”
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CHANNEL SURFING: I can’t decide if Willow Bay and Johnson & Johnson CEO Ralph Larsen were sharing a private joke or flirting shamelessly last Tuesday during Larsen’s interview on CNN’s “Moneyline.” Whatever it was, each of them seemed to be working hard to keep a straight face. …
Al Gore and George W. Bush shouldn’t bother applying for a spot on CBS’ “Big Brother” show, in which a group of strangers will be forced to live in the same house for three months (July ’til October of this year). The eligibility rules state, “You must not be a candidate for public office.”