Opening up by the third glass of wine

Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times reviewed the new Bloomberg Television show “Titans at the Table” and noted that by the third glass of wine, the Wall Streeters were much more loquacious.

Stanley writes, “Bloomberg TV looks a lot like its two rivals, CNBC and Fox Business News — overcaffeinated anchors, pulsating stock tickers and fast-moving news crawls — but has a different sensibility.

“CNBC, perhaps reflecting the liberal bent of its sister cable channel, MSNBC, has a Jacobin streak that plays out in documentaries with titles like ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Filthy Rich‘ that target insider trading, subprime mortgage bundling, Ponzi schemes, Wall Street bankers and foreign plutocrats.

“Fox Business News leans toward Fox News. A recent report on the rising price of oil was illustrated with a finger-wagging calculation of how much President Obama’s fuel expenditures are costing the taxpayer when he travels on Air Force One: $179,000 a flight. The anchor scornfully suggested the president fly Southwest Airlines.

“Bloomberg TV, which gives information away, is, almost by definition, the opposite of Bloomberg L.P., its parent company. Before he became New York’s mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, built that billion-dollar empire on terminals that provide arcane financial data and complex analysis to big-time subscribers.

“Bloomberg TV doesn’t offer exclusive information or insider tips. Instead, in a blandly pleasant tone, it dispenses news investors can use, always emphasizing the bright side with headlines like ‘Profiting From Debt Crisis.'”

Read more here.