Talk To Me

So I'm working on this series about leading women on wall street. A totally softball kind of interview. How did you get to your current position, challenges, journey, etc.Really easy, light stuff. I've been identifying various women in key jobs at many wall street and finance firms. Then sending out emails to their media contacts. Then I wait. Then I send out follow up emails. I can't believe how hard it is to find women that will talk to me.

Like I said - this is easy stuff. I'm not asking them about sex harassment or why their company is losing money. But these requests have gone to a black hole. No, this isn't a Forbes list, which my guess is that if it was I'd hear back from them. But really ladies. Nothing? Radio silence. Crickets chirping.

In my research, I found quite a few women are in leading jobs on Wall Street, but you wouldn't know it cause they are deathly afraid to talk to the media. I even reached out to a Women on Wall Street conference to try to join up with them to do a story. nada. zilch.

So if you think there aren't women in key jobs on wall street - you are wrong. Will you ever read about them? Probably not. Not unless its a Forbes list I guess.

They Are Executives - They Just Happen To Be Women Too.

With the departures of Carol Bartz as Yahoo! CEO and the loss of Sallie Krawcheck at Bank of America, I was asked to do a piece on women executives getting axed. Certainly there were plenty of those pieces out there. It was low hanging fruit. But I hated the idea of such a piece. Why can't they just be executives that got canned? Why did the focus have to be that they were women? I get that there are few women in that role. I have been trying like crazy this month to find a female CEO to interview and have been roundly rejected. But can't we move on and treat them like any other executive?That's what they are - they just also happen to be women.
Separately, I loved that carol said, "They fucked me." There was so much shock that she said that. Guess what guys, that's how we talk. I can't count how many times I've heard a female executive claim that at bonus time or say that when they were the only person to get laid off in a department. Yup, that's how we talk. She just had the  balls to say it.

Summer Intern Dress Code

Ahh summer. Time for the interns to invade our offices. Schools work so hard to prepare these kids to do these interns  - lectures on how to behave and work hard. They even say dress in business attire. But like the whisper game, the kids hear the words "business attire," but what comes out is not always business attire (you know those boring clothes - yuk).

I managed to overcome my issue with flip flops. I don't do it, but since everyone else seems to wear flip flops in the summer - I got over it. But spaghetti straps? SHORTS? Really? At Bear Stearn's, they had no qualms sending home girls in spaghetti straps and no bras. Try seating an 18-yr old nubile babe with no bra in air conditioning next to a middle-aged dad in a mature marriage. Recipe for disaster. They can't concentrate and I'm sure their wives appreciated the efforts by HR. The girls always had that blank look of - what? This isn't ok? It's J Crew. They had no idea what the effect of all the young skin was having on these guys.

Last week, an intern came to our office wearing short shorts. Strangely, I was the only one who noticed. I guess that's why I feel old. Plus, it really bothered me. This isn't a stuffy wall street banking firm, but it's still an office. In my opinion, shorts are never a choice when you go to an office unless its maybe Google. Maybe Bermuda shorts, long capris? But short shorts? NO NO NO.

I debated over whether I should say something. She didn't work for me. No one else seemed to notice. Would she complain to HR that I wasn't minding my own business? Would she leave and then get the person she worked for mad at me? Would I humiliate her? Would she appreciate being told this was inappropriate ?
In the end, I did nothing. I asked someone else what they thought and described my hand wringing. She wrung her hands with me. Should we - as women - tell younger girls - hey this is inappropriate. Or should we sit back and quietly count our grey hairs as short shorts become common business attire?

Finance women ringing the bell

Women in Housing and Finance will visit the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York City's Times Square to recognize its leadership in promoting diversity on WHF's 30^th Anniversary.  

In honor of the occasion, Caroline Harris, President, Women in Housing and Finance and Partner, Goldman Harris LLC, will ring the Closing Bell.

TREASURY TO HOST WOMEN IN FINANCE INVESTMENT SYMPOSIUM

On Tuesday, July 12, 2011, the U.S. Department of the Treasury will convene a Women in Finance Symposium focusing on institutional investment. Following up on the first Women in Finance Symposium in March 2010 and Treasury’s Access to Capital Conference earlier this year, the symposium will bring together senior Administration officials, private sector leaders, and institutional investors for a series of panel discussions to recognize a new group of women who have risen to leadership roles in the institutional investment space and to explore the crucial role of the capital they invest in economic growth and sustainability, entrepreneurship, and job creation in America. Tuesday’s symposium will initiate a dialogue on how institutional investors are deploying capital and managing risk and how investment practices have changed post-financial crisis.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011                        8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET

The event will also be streamed live on www.treasury.gov.

Things My Boss Said To Me

It's Friday and sometimes I feel I should change this blog to the above title. Like most people, it seemed like a great idea to do a blog and I knew it would be tough to come up with time to work on it, but it really is difficult to make the time. But I will keep at it and hopefully get better.

But I never seem to run out of things my boss said to me. So this one goes back a ways to the mid-80's. I worked in a bond house and it was very much a locker room with ties kind of atmosphere. The brokers were in long rows all facing the trading desk in the middle. I was an assistant and we all sat in a group off to the side. So, I'm walking through the row of brokers to get to my guy and this one random guy, not even one i knew very well grabs my butt - with both hands and grabs hard. One cheek in each hand. I was pretty young and it was pretty shocking. Well this was the 80's and he was presumably coked up, which was the explanation for his behavior.

I was pretty upset and so my boss calls me in. Now remember this is before sexual harassment days. That just didn't exist. So, he chuckles and says I just figured you knew him. Like that meant it was OK. My boss was worthless. He said he'd talk to the guy, which I didn't believe. My guys - the ones I worked for - did much more. They tore into the guy. They made it clear that he had overstepped the lines. Then they shunned him. That was awesome. The boss did nothing, but my guys stood up for me.

Things My Boss Said To Me

It's Friday and time for another installment of Things My Boss Said To Me.

This time it was a female boss and this was fairly early on in my career at a mutual fund company. My boss and I had the same first name. She went by Debra and at the time everyone called me Debbie. I was Debbie Conn. Nice ring. Two syllables followed by one.

But this boss pulled me aside and said Debbie didn't sound professional. I should use my given name Debra. Never mind that now there would be two Debra's in the department and that could be confusing. Not wanting to cross the boss, I went along with it and from thence forth I was known as Debra.

Now I understand Debbie sounds like a nickname, and I endured plenty of Debbie Does.... snickers (ala the porn film) and plus its dated (50's sounding), but its kinda weird changing your name in your 20's. Looking back though, should I have let this person influence the use of my name? There are plenty of successful women named Debbie. Did anyone ever really treat me differently as a Debra? Would it have ever kept me from a promotion? Doubtful.

But because of that one boss, my professional name changed.

My family still calls me debbie.

Wall Street Mother's Day

Of course you are behind if you are a Wall Street Broad. Cause you're too darn busy to write a blog post on Mother's Day. So, here's my mom's day contribution.

There's this lawsuit again the Bloomberg organization filed by women saying they couldn't get ahead at the company. That having kids was certainly a deterrent to climbing the corporate ladder. Mayor Mike Bloomberg says he has no idea what these women are talking about. When I read some of the things the women were complaining about - it sounded all too familiar.

Back when I was a bonus baby at Bear Stearns, we used to call it the pregnancy punishment. If you got pregnant, then your bonus that year would be flat. The argument was that you didn't work the entire year - you took 3 months off. While it was never said - it was understood. All you had to do was ask a couple of other female executives and everyone had the same experience. Now you couldn't complain about this. If you did, your career as over. And maybe today that doesn't happen anymore. It didn't keep you from moving up, but you were definitely hit in the pocketbook.

Of course, it was a small price to pay for my wonderful boy!

The Shoe Switch

New York City sidewalks are punishing on shoes and feet. I can no longer walk around the city in heels at all. Not even low heels. It just hurts too much and it doesn't matter whether its a foot friendly show maker or not. I just can't do it.

So, I've become the master of the shoe switch. That is walking in flats (or flip flops in the summer) and then quickly switching to heels when I get to my destination. Yes, that was me balancing on one heel outside of Four Seasons as I slipped on the other. This can be pretty tricky. Under no circumstances do you want your foot to touch Manhattan pavement. So you have to slip off the flat, slip on the heel and not fall over while you are now wearing two different shoes.

Then you can move on to doing the other. This also requires some flexibility because you are bending all the way over to grab your other shoe from the bag which is sitting on the sidewalk - balancing on the heeled shoe. Yoga anyone?

Inevitability someone will stare at you as you do the switch. I have long given up that embarrassment. I just don't care. I don't like lugging shoes around in my bag, but this is the only way I can manage to stay in heels at an interview or event. I've seen these foldable slippers advertised and may pick up a pair. Sneakers don't works since they are way to huge to lug around. So for now, my trusty ballet flats will do.

If you want to conquer NY - master the shoe switch!

Mom Marketing

Katherine Wintsch is a Mom Marketer. She tells companies like Wal-Mart how to market to moms. Winstch says it isn't just about putting stuff on sale. It's knowing your mom and what she needs. We moms want to sit down to a balanced meal at night. But the reality is that most moms work and that means trying to cook vegtables quickly won't happen. It's hard to be creative.

Personally, I am not one of those moms that wants to spend all day on Sunday making meals for the entire week like some suggest. I am however, the master of the 20 minute meal!

Wintsch also tells companies that they need to focus on brands that women prefer and build on that. Women really get attached to certain brands. Men - not so much. (hmm...sounds like marriage?)


Here are another chick fact. 80% of the car buying decision is done by women, but cars are seen as inherently male. Car companies are finally coming around and designing cars to appeal to women and changing the ads to ones that women would like. Cute kid in Jedi costume? Wintsch pointed out the recent car ad where a woman gets noticed by hot guys in her cool mini van. Very calculated ad move.

It seems a no brainer, right? But companies cling to traditional roles. Most women work and more frequently women make more money than their husbands. I personally know several families in which the wives make more than the husbands. Its no big deal. But I think it happens more than most people realize. Its about time that companies come to terms with this.

Katherine Wintsch founded The Mom Complex and i'ts a think tank dedicated to marketing to moms. Tell 'em how it is Katherine!

I'll Take 50% Efficiency to Get 100% Loyalty

That quote is from Samuel Goldwyn. I bet he never carried a loyalty card. I have so many of these things that I bought an extra wallet just carry loyalty cards. 3 out of 4 Americans have at least one loyalty card, but only a 1/3 ever get a reward or promotion as a result of the card. Only 27% of Americans have received a reward that made them feel valued. In fact, 44% have had a negative experience with loyalty cards.

As example, my husband had a Staples card. we diligently presented it with purchases for a year. But never heard anything about it. When he looked into it, they said the card wasn't active - although at no time during any transaction did a clerk ever say there was a problem. They finally agreed that something went wrong, but then didn't want to credit the entire years worth of spending to the card. After lots of yelling - they finaly agree. The result was basically $113.00 worth of store coupons. This took even more phone calls and yelling to actually get the checks cut. It was an awful experience.

On the positive side, I just cashed in some points at Sephora for a nice gift. My theatre card just paid off in a free movie ticket. And my Cosi card should be paying me a free sandwich soon. The wine store pays me a free bottle after every 10, I like that one.

But the drug store cards are worthless. CVS will give me a coupon that is worth $1.00 off if I spend another
$20 - so stupid. I hardly ever spend $20 at CVS. The PetSmart card never seems to pay off. The grocery store card pays off at the holidays, but that's it.

Unfortunately, it seems lots of times I can't find the card of the place that I'm at. That happened to me th eothe rnight at Panera's. I found it after we finished eating, sitting in the movie theatre after earning a free ticker!

Things My Boss Said To Me

It must be Friday - because it's time for another chapter of Things My Boss Said To Me.

This is another often told tale of my days at Bear Stearns. I was 7 months pregnant and really struggling one day. I was having braxton-hicks contractions. It was painful and uncomfortable. My feet hurt. I just wanted to lay down. If I could lay down for a half hour, I knew I could work the rest of the day. I told my wonderful boss Bill Clemente and he said absolutely, go to the nurse. (this isn't the bad boss part yet)

So, I head down to the nurse where there is a bed. I walk in and then at the same moment, another man comes in. The nurse looks at us both and asks what we need. I say I need to lay down, pain, blah blah pregnant blah blah. I didn't have to say too much - I looked pretty pitiful. She turns to the "gentleman" and asks him what he needs. It was Ralph Cioffi. Yes - that Ralph Cioffi - of I burned down the financial markets when when my hedge fund was the first to get marked down 50%. The Ralph that went to trial (was not found guilty). He said I called because I have a migraine and need to lay down in the dark.

Awkward silence.

The nurse says haltingly - well the policy is you have to call first and he called first. I think she was expecting him to give me the ONE bed. But noooooo. He made a beeline for the bed. Left me in the dust. The nurse and I just kinda looked at each other. At that moment in my highly emotional pregnant state - I starting crying. It was just too degrading. I had actually worked for Ralph at one point. And he pulled SMD ranking on me. That's senior managing director. Rank was a big deal at Bear.

So, the nurse says you can sit here in my office. I cry "I have my own office I can sit in." So I head back up to my own office and proceed to sit and cry. It was just too much. I was exhausted and stressed and just desperately needed to lie down My boss bill comes and in wonders what happened. I tell him and he sends me home. Smart move because I was completely worthless.

The day I saw Ralph Cioffi do the "perp" walk for the trial over the hedge funds - was a wonderful day. It took years, but karma's a bitch.

Shoes Shoes Shoes

In New York, the sidewalks and stairs are punishing on a woman's feet. I am always amazed when I see a woman in the subway in heels. I can't imagine walking around the city that way. Not only do your shoes get torn up and quickly ground down by the cement - it just becomes down right painful.

So most wall street gals walk to work in comfortable shoes. Sneakers, flats, Uggs and in the summer - flip flops. Then they get to work and switch to the nice shoes. Obviously you aren't going to transport shoes back and forth, so the space beneath your desk becomes your shoe closet. Of course you don't have just black pumps under the desk - you've got everything. When I left Bear Stearns I carted out one entire box of just shoes. 9 pairs.

I asked my former colleagues how many and one girl copped to 18 pairs. I know another who wore a size 5 and he mother worked at Bloomingdale's in the buyers office. The shoe samples came in a size 5, so this gal had an entire plastic bin stored under her desk with what had to be 30 pairs of shoes.

As a reporter, I don't have a strict professional dress code, nor do I feel the competitive fashion pressures of professional women. But I have accumulated 5 pairs of shoes in my drawer and under my desk. And I am a frequent public shoe changer. If I need to be somewhere in nice shoes, I'll carry them with me and outside the building with no embaressment whatsoever - change my flat shoes for heels.

The guys think we're nuts for storing shoes under the desk and the cleaning ladies never steal them. So there you have it. The secrets of the wall street shoe storage.

Bag Ladies

A few weeks ago The New York Times had an article reviewing fancy lunch bags. I thought hmmmm wouldn't that be fun to get some designer lunch bag samples to write about? But then realized I would just end up leaving one of those nice bags on the train, never to be seen again. So, instead I decided to chronicle the actual bags that us Wall Street gals actual use and they aren't those fancy designer ones.

I personally don't like the brown bag. It has to be held or tossed in a tote. In the tote, the insides get crushed and hardly any tupperware containers fit in it. Costs less than a penny.

The grocery store plastic bag will fit just about any tupperware container and then some. It has the crush factor too, but it also contains leaks. I found this out when my salad dressing container leaked. This also gets tossed into a tote, but it does have enough handle to allow carrying. Free.

I bought this at the grocery store for $1.99. Stylish stripes, huh? It's got a foil type inside, but no insulation. I like it because it fits plasticware. I don't like that the straps don't fit over my arm, allowing for free hands. I hold onto it, but don't use it so much anymore.

The small shopping bag is a the "go to" lunch bag for wall street gals. Free! This Loft bag will last for many commuting trips. It has a really pretty grosgrain ribbon handle and sturdy paper sides. I'm sure the company designs them with lunch in mind. They probably love us gals giving them all that free advertising. I never throw out a bag this size.

Ahh, the most expensive bag I own. I confess my mom bought it for me. It cost $20 at Bloomingdales. I hope I don't leave it on the train. I've left many a lunch bag on the train. It's not insulated, but look at the length of those handles! You can slide this bag up your arm and have free hands to dig out subway cards, wallet, you name it. Great feature. My current favorite. 
My previous  favorite was from Wal-Mart. It cost $5. It had those same long handles, was insulated and black. It looked like a handbag. Yes, I left it on the train. Wal-Mart doesn't sell them anymore and that made me sad, but then my mom bought me the bag at Bloomingdales and I got over it.

R.I.P. New Years Resolutions

Mid March is the time of year that people begin dropping those New Year resolutions. Get a new job. Lose weight. Be more organized. You name it, most people start to lose motivation at about this time. When I used to be a gym rat, I couldn't wait til "those people" finally went back to their lives and quit hogging the machines at the gym. But why is it that people start the year with such hope and conviction that this year will be the year they will (fill in the blanks) and then fail three months later.

I spoke with Beverly Flaxton, author of Understanding Other People: The Five Secrets to Human Behavior http://www.understandingotherpeople.com/ about why people fall off the resolution wagon. She told me that that she's identified 5 steps people need to take beyond the resolution in order to achieve their . goals. Here they are:

1. Be really specific on the resolution. Not just "I want to lose 10 pounds." But more specific. I don't like the way I look. I don't like how my clothes fit. What will losing 10 pounds cause? New clothes? Less stress in the morning when getting dressed for work? Write it down.
2. Highlight the obstacles. What's standing in the way. Is it more expensive to get the lower calorie food? Is it hard to eat lo cal food on a hectic schedule? Is it hard to get to the gym with work and kids? Identify what can hold you back. You can't be sucessful unless you know the hurdles you will face. Identifying the obstacle before they happen helps you overcome them.
3. Human factor. How much do I care about getting a new job? Do I fear leaving my comfortable job where I know everyone and have friends. I may not like my boss, but I like the hours, could a new job mess that up? Recognize these issues and deal with them.
4. Alternatives. Beverly mentioned how someone she worked with needed to exercise, but couldn't afford a gym. She figured out a solution by using the Wii program already in her house. Beverley said most people just immediately feel they need to go to a gym to get into shape, but they overlook other alternatives. Is it the job or the boss? Maybe its just your boss making you crazy, maybe you look at transferring within the company?
5. Plan. Really put some effort into the resolution. Not just - yeah  I want a new job this year. Do your homework and figure out why exactly you want this goal.

Beverly said she sees lots of motivation and commitment, but if people put this extra effort into those resolutions, then they will be more successful. Mid March won't become the time of year that people drop all those grand plans if they dig a little deeper before they start.

Sadly for the gym rats, those members may stick around longer.

Things My Boss Said To Me

"Choose between work or school."

My answer to this ridiculous question was - You want me to choose between the job that you - yourself said had no future in it or getting my Masters Degree from NYU where the professors believe in me? Yes, I have balls of steel when it comes to talking to bosses.

To put into context - I went back to school while I was working and attended as many night courses as I could. Unfortunately, some of the journalism classes were only offered during the daytime and the time was drawing near when I would have to take them. So I offered to my bosses that I would use vacation days on those class days. Or go to class and come back and work later to make up the time missed. Both solutions were denied. Now mind you - I WORKED THERE FOR 15 YEARS! Neither my boss or his boss had ever worked anywhere for 15 years. In fact one had never married and the other was divorced once - so I kinda questioned their commitment issues.

Anyway - I was told to choose. I chose school. This was a watershed moment, because at that point Bear Stearns said we're going to fire you then. But they didn't really want to fire me so they gave me 4 weeks to change my mind. If I still didn't give up my desire to go to school - then I would be terminated. I still didn't change my mind.

Now this was 4 weeks from the end of the fiscal year - so my decision would cost me thousands of dollars in bonus money, plus my job. At the time, I cried and thought I would throw up. It was devastating. I was walking away from a job and lots of money that could help me actually pay for school for an unproven career change. Very scary stuff. But I knew what the choice was - even though it was one of the hardest decisions I had ever made in my life.

I chose correctly. I left 4  months before the Bear Stearns hedge funds began imploding and sold my Bear Stearns stock for $151 a share - because I was bitter and angry at had badly this boss treated me. I have a great career now and am much happier.

As a side note - I ran into this boss on the subway 2 years later. I know - a city of 8 million people and I end up on the same subway car. During our polite chatter I ended up making a snide remark about yeah well after you fired me. He said you quit we didn't fire you. I said I was on unemployment for 6 months you fired me. He didn't even remember what had transpired. Unbelievable.

We Aim To Serve

WOB wire reported the results of a survey of women owned businesses and 60% said they would categorize their business as service-oriented.

While, I think it's great that women own their own businesses - I kinda wished the number for service wasn't so high. I think its incredibly hard to be self-employed, which is why I have always worked for a company. Is it because a service is easier to sell as opposed to a gadget?

At the same time I saw that Sony was offering scholarships to women for game design. It turns out women a big gamers, but very few go into game design. I commend Sony for trying to change that.

Then - bear with me - I saw that the SBA is offering a special program for women owned businesses that started this February, http://archive.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/onlinewbc/index.html.

Ok, so you see already there are plenty of women starting businesses, there are opportunities for women to go into businesses they normally don't go in and then finally there is help.

I may not have the guts to be self-employed but as I see these things, I will post them on this blog and spread the message.

 

Things My Boss Said to Me

"How does this day care thing work?"

This was when my son was young. I never knew anyone who didn't know how day care "worked." But this came from a white Irish male who's wife was a SAHM and didn't really (in his heart) believe moms should work. I guess he never had a working mom report to him?

So, I explained the drop off process. The critical pick up time. If you are even 5 minutes late you are charged extra. Sometimes this is a problem if you ride the trains home and a train runs late while you are on it. This only happens when your phone has no battery life.  I explained that if your child suddenly runs a 99.1 temperature - they will call you immediately to come get said child. NOW. That is why sometimes I - your employee - would have to make a sudden chaotic departure. And on and on.

But the main thing is that if a boss has no clue what it is to be a working mom - the cards can be stacked against it. It may be time to find a different boss you can report to or change departments or something. This same boss in reviews would drop hints about the "choice" I made. He just really didn't think moms should work.

Instead of moving on, I was determined to work even harder and prove that I could do it all. But I should have seen that no matter how hard I worked, this guys was never going to see it. I was working instead of being home with my kid and that was all he ever saw.

Recession Proof Beauty

Even when times are tough, gals can't let go of their favorite brands. They want them so bad they'll even steal them.

According to a survey from the Food Marketing Institute, cosmetics top the list of shoplifted goods. The hottest sticky finger item? Oil of Olay skin cream. It tops the most stolen cosmetics list. A Brand Keys report said that even in a bad economy, consumers stick with their expensive favorites over cheaper alternatives (I guess the ones that pay for them). Customers have forged an emotional connection to the brand and linked with their self-image.

Even at the worst of the recession, Ibis World Reports noted that the U.S. cosmetics and toiletries sector generated more than $10 billion in revenue. And those metrosexual men? Men's cosmetics is the fastest growing segment in skin care. It has grown from $40.9 million in 1997 to $217 million in 2009.


And girls are spending money on cosmetics at an even younger age. In 2005, the average age was 17 when a girl started buying products, today it is 13.7. Experian Market Research shows that 43% of six- to nine-year-olds are already using lipstick or lip gloss, 38% use hairstyling products and 12% use other cosmetics

So the question is "did the stocks follow these reports and surveys?" Luxury stocks did. I compared the returns of Estee Lauder (EL) and Elizabeth Arden (RDEN) versus Avon (AVP) and Revlon (RE). Estee Lauder went up 61% over the last year and E. Arden went up 67%. While cheaper brand Avon actually went down 5.6% and Revlon returned a 7% gain. That is a huge difference between luxury and common brands. Ulta Salon and Cosmetics (ULTA) chain delivered a whopping 124% increase over the past year.

You would think that if women were struggling with job losses or reduced salaries that would trade down with cosmetics, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Analysts seem to be mixed as to whether the group can go any higher. But if women kept buying when things were tough, won't they keep buying as the economy improves? I think the analysts are being too cautious on this group. I can't say whether I think the stocks will keep climbing, but I bet the sales will.

Things My Boss Said To Me

"They normally hire people younger than you for those jobs."

Oh snap.

This came from the head of the the last department I worked in at Bear Stearns. He was an academic wonk from the SEC and was socially awkward. Everyone dreaded having to interact with him. I got stuck waiting for an elevator alone with him. Now, anyone that knows me - knows I can talk to a cardboard box. But this guy was a challenge even to me.

So, after some awkward silence, I started chatting about returning to school to get my Masters degree. Thinking - academic - good topic. He asks what I'll do with a Masters in business reporting. I answer: not sure where it will take me. Who knows - maybe I'll be on TV talking about the market. That's when he zinged me. I stammered something about ..that may be...but I can try...some other weak response. Thinking is this the longest elevator wait in history?

Now, I'm no spring chicken and I agree that many women on TV are young. But really? You say that directly to someone? To their face? Someone who is enthusiastically waxing about school?

Thankfully I dismissed his rude, mean, biting remark. I proved that jerk wrong.

And now - knowing what I know about the SEC - I'm not so impressed with his credentials.

These are the kinds of things that in a weak moment  could have sent me to the bathroom crying. He's right - what am I thinking? I'm too old for this. Too old to go back to school. Too old to be on camera. But I didn't.
Instead I said to myself  - what an idiot.

Yeah, they normally hire women younger than me, but they didn't.

Are Bonuses Buying Boobs?

Plastic surgery is up 5% over last year. But Park Ave. based Long Island Plastic Surgery Group is up 30%. They are the oldest practice in NYC and have 6 locations in the tri-state area.

“This dramatic return cosmetic plastic surgery reflects the rise in consumer confidence that we’ve seen throughout most of 2010,” said Dr. Kaveh Alizadeh, a noted plastic surgeon and president of LIPSG.  “Botox and other injectables, for example, are up 12%.  Feeling good – and looking good – is in style once again.”

The #1 surgical procedure is boob jobs. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons released data showing that surgical procedures increased 2% over last year. I don't think that was Heidi Montag alone.

Breast augmentation (296,000)
Nose reshaping (252,000)
Eyelid surgery (209,000)
Liposuction (203,000)
Tummy tuck (116,000)

Is it coincidence that bankers began paying bonuses again and all the gals on Wall Street went and had some work done? Jus' askin?

Arianna Rules

Well she rules a publishing empire now. Most people saw that AOL is buying Huffington Post for over $300 million. Not bad for a six year old business. I was watching these pundits on TV that were implying she wasn't up to the task. I mean really - run the publishing site for AOL???

The woman started a website in 2005 and is selling it for $315 million. How many of those nay saying pundits can say the same thing. None. You don't do that by accident. It isn't that she just got lucky. She built a business that someone was willing to pay big money for.

It's also interesting that AOL, the cutting edge internet brand - first to the dial up internet is now the old established media company. Stephanie Sandberg, CMO of SSA & CO. said, "Huffington Post is the AOL of the Time Warner deal with AOL from 2000...because as Shira Ovide points out in WSJ, Arianna's taking over the content, which means she's basically in charge."

However, that deal didn't work out so well. Time Warner lost millions and had to spin AOL back off because the company was failing. Now AOL is desperate and spends 40% of its cash on HuffPo. Only time will tell if it will work.

But the internet battle for the "go to website" is heating up with AOL/HuffPo, Apple's The Daily, Google and Yahoo's continuation of its content expansion. I'm starting to think it comes down to pepsi and coke.

HuffPo and ......

Things My Boss Said To Me

"What are you? A Nazi soldier that just does what he's told and doesn't think?"

Ah yes, this is a classic story. This statement was made after a very bad day in the foreign exchange dept. at Bear Stearns. Here's what happened.....

A trader did a peso option, which wasn't traded in pesos but in US dollars. This was such a weird product that it didn't even appear on the computers and a confirmation of the trade had to manually created. Unfortunately, neither the trader or back office guys did it. So, the next day the customer asks, "where's my confirm?" pretty angry too. So panic began and they hustled around to get the confirm written. My boss asks me if I know the client, yes I did. Did I know the fax number ( faxes - chuckle)? Yes I did. Could I please as quickly as possible fax this piece of paper to the client?

So, not questioning my boss who made it clear this needed to be done right away. IMMEDIATELY. I faxed the paper to the client. However.....

the piece of paper had both sides of the trade. Which meant the customer saw how much money was made on the trade, which was roughly $100,000. DOH! Not good. Very bad. Currency trades were not electronic yet - so it was feasible - on occasion to make big money on an FX trade.

They had to back out the trade to make the client happy. Big mess. My boss blamed me. The trader stood up for me and blamed my boss, saying he was the one at error. Debra was just trying to help - had no involvement whatsoever in the trade resolution was just walking by and agreed to send a fax.

But, the head of the dept saw it differently. He agreed it was my fault. Calls me into his office with my boss and the guy who wrote the confirm and says the infamous Nazi comment.

Now - here's the context. He's Jewish. I have a very German last name. This was completely and totally over the line. I call HR and say - really - I have to put up with this? I come to work and get called a Nazi. For real. Not kidding. They couldn't believe it. But upon calling him - he admits it.

Fours weeks later I transferred to another department.

There Is No Fat Pill

The FDA rejected Orexigen's (ticker: OREX) diet drug Contrave today - due to heart attack concerns. The company had all its hopes riding on this drug and predictably the stock got spanked. Ok more like destroyed on the news. Lots of investors buy these drug companies that look to have "promising" obesity drugs. The company that hits this home run is expected to make BILLIONs of dollars. Abbot Labs had Meridia, but it pulled the drug after it too had heart attack issues.

"I can accept a little heart attack if I can fit into my skinny jeans"

The rejection was a surprise because the FDA's outside advisory panel voted 13-7 in favor of it. That positive sign got shareholders excited. The FDA said it wants another study. Orexigen says it doesn't have the money to do the study the FDA wants.

Here's the thing - there is no such thing as a fat pill. The only thing that gets rid of fat is a low calorie diet and exercise. There are no fat pills on the Biggest Loser, just hours and hours of brutal exercise. But that doesn't stop the drug companies from trying to sell these pills. Vivus and and Arena Pharmaceuticals both plan to reintroduce their fat pills to the FDA after being rejected last year.

Once again - there is no such thing as a fat pill to get rid of obesity. If you hear about a drug company selling such a thing - snicker. Pat yourself  on the back for knowing better and click the buy order for a different stock.

Things My Boss Said To Me

"Debra, Just don't talk in these meetings. You talk about things and you don't know what you're talking about."

The irony of the statement above is that I get now paid for people to listen/read what I have to say. But when Boss Bob said this to me it was even more shocking because unbeknownst to him, the people that attended this weekly meeting frequently complained about HIM. They'd ask me afterwards, does Bob even listen in these meetings? We have to say things over and over. We have to repeat what happened in the previous meeting because he never remembers what happened. He never seems to know what's going on.

Luckily, due to these post meeting conversations, I promptly ignored his nasty comment. I knew that I knew what was going on. I knew that my contributions to the meetings were valued by the other people at the meeting. But had I not known these things, that comment could have really affected my self worth and confidence. And even better, when I was getting divorced from Bear, this very group of people offered me a job. Good thing I didn't be a good little girl and keep my mouth shut!

I used to entertain my non-Wall Street friends with these stories. They were always amazed at the rude things my bosses at Bear Stearns would say to me. So, I think I'll make this my Friday special and call it "things my boss said to me." Feel free to send me the rotten things bosses have said to you.

Ladies Night - 4 for 1

The World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland is such a sausage party, that the WEF is offering a fifth "slot" to companies if they bring a chick. The number of women attending Davos this year may be close to 20%, up from 16% last year. That's not shocking since Davos is primarily attending by heads of companies, CEO's and such and we all know there aren't that any female corporate leaders.

I think it's great that they are trying to get more women to attend, even if they have to sweeten the pot for the companies. It's a great way for a woman to establish credibility by saying she went to Davos. Plus, if there are panels about empowering women, then its probably a good idea to have a few there.

There were so many times when I worked at Bear Stearns, that I was the only woman in a meeting. Or there were those occassions when, say three or more women were in a meeting and we would be amazed. Pleased.

Forced invitations suck, but if eventually it gets the guys used to having some gals along, then send me my engraved card. Admittance: One Broad from Wall Street.

It's a Start

As a journalist, I kept seeing stories about women in business that rarely saw the light of day. Mostly because the demographics for most financial websites is predominantly male. Ok, so that means no one wants to read about a woman owned business or about women on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange. I decided that I would create that place for those stories.

There will also be some personal observations. But no budget/coupon clipping posts, I would hardly want to tell anyone how to budget. There also won't be any financial advising. I don't do that and don't make any money doing that, so you won't come here for financial advice. On occasion I may relate a story about a product, but don't expect to do product reviews.

What I do want to have is a place to read about other women who have started a business, written a book or just work in the financial industry. I want readers to feel at home and be inspired and maybe I can tell some stories that you can relate to. I hope you enjoy my blog. Wish me luck!