The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Year

Citigroup's Dancin' Fool

There is a temptation to give Citigroup a yearly award for waiting until December to rate a basket full of banks and Countrywide as sells, on account of the credit crisis. If anything, Citigroup should have known from the credit crisis early and gotten the scoop passed on to its analysts.

But as we'll soon be dancing New Year's Eve away, let's give this award instead to the dearly departed Chuck Prince, who merged images of dancing shoes and the corner office he no longer occupies in a way that made shareholders want to cry in their wedding soup.

Back in July (maybe it was the heat) when the stock market was supremely nervous about subprime, Prince was asked if caution was in order. He responded with his dancing feet aflutter:

"As long as the music is playing," Prince told The Financial Times, referring to favorable markets, "You've got to get up and dance."

Musical chairs rarely ends well, though, even for Good Time Charlies who are supposed to be leading, not following, trends. In a bit of irony that might send shareholders into a bit of murderous rage, Prince also managed to say: "When the music stops, in terms of liquidity, things will be complicated." If only he could have heard himself above the music...

Dumb-o-meter Score: 91. For dancing his company's life away, Prince should be sentenced to doing the bump and grind with three of the larger drag queens to work a Wall Street Christmas party. Don't be embarrassed. I thought she was a woman too.

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