Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Remember when Jim Cramer recommended buying stock in Wachovia a couple of weeks ago? Yea, neither do we. But just in case the dozen or so examples of how embarrassingly misguided Jim Cramer usually is don't suffice (remember his enthusiastic support for Bear Stearns just before its collapse?) and you need further proof that taking financial advice from a cable news show isn't such a hot idea, feel free to take a moment to watch Cramer's overly dramatic apology from last night's broadcast of Mad Money. Two weeks ago Cramer welcomed Wachovia CEO Robert Steel to the show, who told the manic talk show host that his bank was doing great, prompting Cramer to describe Wachovia a "winner." We all now how that "winner" turned out, although Cramer seems to have already formulated his defense. He claims that Steel, a longtime pal, took "advantage" of him. Funny, that sounds familiar!

• Dow Chemical will acquire rival specialty chemicals company Rohm & Haas for $18.8 billion, in a deal financed by Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway and the Kuwait Investment Authority. [Reuters]
• Viacom overlord Sumner Redstone is making it very clear (once again) that his daughter is not in line to take over the media giant, telling CNBC's David Faber that Shari "isn't qualified." [NYT] 
• Wachovia has named fomrer Treasury Undersecretary Robert Steel its new CEO. [Forbes]
• Steve Wynn is considering a secondary listing for his casino/hotel company in Hong Kong, which could raise as much as $3 billion. [MarketWatch]
• Bloomberg LP is restructuring and dividing the company into three units; Merrill Lynch is still debating whether to sell its 20% stake in the company. [Reuters]
  
• Jon Sandelman's Sandelman Partners has restructured its master fund and told investors that, sorry, they can't have their money back anytime soon. [WSJ]