According to The Wall Street Journal, Sallie Mae CEO Albert Lord sadly attempted a joke - "I can assure you, you will be going through a metal detector" - during a rocky conference call with investors that ended with what seemed to be an earth-quake: "Let's go. There's no questions. Let's get the [expletive] out of here."
The Consumerist reports that the “expletive” was “fuck,” and Sallie Mae spokesman Tom Joyce said the call had been intended for Mr. Lord, in his new role, to give investors a "broad overview" of the company's situation, and the expletive was "an unfortunate slip of the tongue.” The slip was so unfortunate that it may have contributed to the 21% fall in Sallie Mae shares that came soon after.
The New York Times reports that the call, as a whole, underscored the troubles plaguing Sallie Mae.
Also:
Former hedge-fund analysts, Holden Karnofsky and Elie Hassenfeld, both 26 years old, ditch their six-figure incomes and build buzz about the field of philanthropy with their original idea for GiveWell, an organization that studies charities in particular fields and ranks them on their effectiveness, reports The New York Times.
Yesterday, news that late-night talk shows would return to the airwaves seemed too good to be true in an ongoing strike that's been stuck in the mud. And too good it was, as potential guests for the shows are still stuck in that mud. A publicist told the Times that clients of her agency were likely to wait and see what the reaction would be to other actors who cross the picket line.
The Child Study Center at NYU announced that it would halt a controversial ad campaign, – using a ransom note concept - aimed at raising awareness of children's mental and neurological disorders, after conjuring a negative reaction.
Perez Hilton has been banned from YouTube after posting a “very critical video about their practices,” blogs Valleywag. Upon the deletion of his protest video and his second YouTube account, Hilton fired back, naturally, with a post complaining about YouTube and censorship.
Pfizer has been sued over boosting sales for Lipitor with a misleading educational program for doctors.
