Meredith Whitney’s Blond Ambition Tour Rolls On

Will Meredith Whitney's Blond Ambition tour ever end? Her widely derided pitchbook and marketing campaign of the same name have enjoyed a longer half life than plutuntiom, and much like the uranium-234, she is deadly.

Her day started on CNBC, but she was also given a huge spread in Fortune, whose PR folks blanketed the blogosphere this morning with a blast email announcing the piece. I have to admit I am tiring of her marketing campaign; could she spend more time crunching numbers and less on TV? Make no mistake about it, this is all about her, and now you know more than you ever needed:

Just who is Meredith Whitney, and how the heck did a little-known analyst from a second-tier firm become the oracle of the bear market? The first question is simpler to answer. Whitney, 38, grew up in Bethesda, Md., one of three daughters born to Richard Whitney, a venture capitalist and onetime official in Richard Nixon's Department of Commerce (but not part of the famous Whitney clan that includes Eli and John Hay Whitney), and Barbara Gentry, an executive recruiter. She prepped at Lawrenceville, graduated from Brown University in 1992 (Whitney and I overlapped at Brown but didn't know each other), and has been working in Wall Street research pretty much ever since. Fortune

Her only break from the Street was her stint at Fox’s Bulls and Bears from 2003 to 2004. She took the TV gig, she says, after a noncompete with a former employer barred her from immediately accepting another analyst job.

Older sister Wendy Taylor says Meredith has always been one part workaholic and one part Ms. Popularity. It isn’t an easy combo to pull off, but Whitney perfected the balancing act at a young age. Case in point: She was once the youngest paper carrier in Washington Post history, landing the job at age 8.

There you have it.  Today one of her longtime coworkers (who I have known for years) called her “dumb as a box of rocks”. Surely he was referring to her husband? Yes, she has a reputation as a bit of an intellectual lightweight, but his assessment might be too harsh.

Meredith’s subprime and housing research have been pointing to problems at the banks for years, but she waited for the dam to burst before getting vocal about the downside.

Good timing.

But she will probably overstay her welcome on the Bear Side of the ledger. Co-workers suggest that her best material is coming in a steady stream from hedge funds, as they share the investment thesis and let her work her magic.

There is nothing unusual about that on the SellSide, of course. And it is no different than reading the better blogs.

But longer-term you have to wonder what the future holds for her. She is not bulge bracket material, and probably could not score a great gig on the BuySide, at least at an alternative shop.

Of course, whatever she does beats writing a blog that peddles Gin to the unwashed masses.

Unfortunately, Oppenheimer’s Bud Lowenthal will likely toss her aside after she outlives her uselfulness, and while the rank and file at Oppenheimer appreciate the publicity she has gotten for the firm after splitting off from CIBC, they roll their eyes every time her name comes up in conversation. Mere Jealousy?

Enjoy your 15 minutes Meredith, and watch your back.

At minute 14 the knives come out, and when the bell hits 15 minutes you are dead. Cash in while you can; I trust we have not seen the last of the Blonde Ambition Tour.

Of course, not many of us will be left standing.

But we might collapse in exhaustion from Meredith’s “elaborately choreographed, sexually provocative extravaganza.”
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Squawk Box this morning:

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The woman who called Wall Street’s meltdown
Fortune
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The content contained represent the opinions of 1440 Wall Street. This commentary in no way constitutes a solicitation of business or investment advice. It is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.

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