Business media buying toxic assets

Both National Public Radio’s “Planet Money” and CNBC have dived into the markets to purchase their own toxic assets to help explain what they are to their listeners.

The Planet Money blog notes, “After Planet Money bought Toxie, our very own toxic asset, David Kestenbaum went on CNBC to talk about it. The folks over at CNBC said they loved the idea.

“Turns out, they loved it so much that they did it themselves. On today’s Power Lunch, CNBC unveiled its own toxic asset. And they’re asking their audience to come up with a name. (We can recommend ‘Kenny,’ which came in second when we asked Planet Money’s listeners to name our asset.)

“Maybe if the idea really catches on, the market for mortgage-backed bonds like our little Toxie will come back to life.”

Read more here.