By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator
Dallas, TX – It's the middle of August. It's the middle of the week. The market's just lollygagging around. So here's some news you won't find on the front page. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Midday.
Remember all those little misdeeds by the company with the slanted E down in Houston, which started the corporate scandal ball rolling? And while we wait for any corporate Enron executive to be brought to trial, I suppose we can take solace in the fact a wife of a former executive is going to trial. As former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow is free on a $5 million bond - and who knows when he'll see a courtroom - Lea Fastow's attorneys have tried everything in their power to get her court date delayed. Reason: it was right before next year's Super Bowl Game, and try to find a hotel room that week. Well, they got their wish; her date, to probably plead innocent to conspiracy and tax charges, has been changed to February 10th. That gives Houston a couple of weeks to clear out. Now where's Lay and Skilling?
Now another unfortunate woman in the news because of her alleged misdeeds is Ms. Martha "Maybe-I'm-Not-So-Perfect" Stewart. Even though she stepped down as chairman and chief executive, a name's a name and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's quarterly profits were sharply lower. So back to the drawing board they went, and on the shelves next week will be a new magazine titled "Everyday Food." It's targeted for those busy professionals who use the - heaven forbid - microwave. I might have to check it out.
And did you ever remember a commercial you saw when you were watching a television show with sex and violence? The proper answer would be "Never thought about it," and "I don't watch sex and violence on TV." But in case you're interested, a University of Michigan professor actually studied advertising retention on TV shows. He found viewers remember fewer ads from shows with sex and violence than they do when watching "neutral shows." The professor is doing more research to find out why. And no the networks are not going to quit advertising on those shows. For KERA Marketplace Midday, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m.
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