A nasty Twitter battle broke out between Fox Business Network's senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino and CNBC contributor Ron Insana on Friday afternoon. 

It happened following my Tweet of a new Fox Business advertisement featuring Gasparino that said, "Charlie Breaks It! Others Follow." The advertisement also said, "FOR CHARLIE, IT'S NOT JUST BUSINESS, IT'S PERSONAL!"

Insana, who used to work with Gasparino, responded on Twitter saying that CNBC's David Faber breaks the news and others follow. 

This instigated a heated exchange where the two business reporters hurled insults back-and-forth.

Gasparino called Insana a "fat slob" and said that he would "smack" him "silly." 

Insana, who pointed out that he had lost 30 lbs,  then criticized Gasparino's reporting calling him a "single-source shill." 

Gasparino then announced that he was going on air with Liz Claman.

While doing his hit on Fox Business, he continued to hurl more insults toward Insana. He said that Insana was "jealous of Fox Business" and he "doesn't have much hair." 

"I'm not being mean. He was mean to me...He's jealous of Fox Business. He's jealous of what we do here and he thinks that the world begins and ends at that crappy studio in Englewood Cliff[s]. I will say this—I have left him in the dust, the disgusting slob that he his. I have left David Faber and all of them. I do, every day, I break news and I will scrape him off my shoe any time, any day..."

"He's disgusting. He's the lowest form of journalism," Gasparino said.  

Claman told Gasparino to "go back to Twitter with that one." And so he did.

Here's a rundown of the Tweets: 

Check out the Fox Business clip:

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Ireland wants to help CNBC's Joe Kernen and any other journalist who might be confused by the country's political system.

According to the New York Post, the country's government has announced a free expansion of its educational program for those abroad interested in business in Ireland.

It's called the Irish Executive Mentoring Program, and a spokesman told The Post that Kernen should definitely apply.

This comes after a disastrous live interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box" last week, when host Kernen seemed perplexed to find out that Ireland was part of the EU.

Kernen was interviewing Martin Shanahan of Ireland’s Industrial Development Authority (IDA). Cohost Becky Quick asked Shanahan how a weaker euro was affecting Irish tourism; Kernen thought Ireland was still using the pound.

Joe Kernen: You have pounds anyway, don't you still?

Martin Shanahan: We have euros.

JK: You have euros in Ireland? Why do you have euros in Ireland? 

MT: Why wouldn't we have euros?

JK: I'd use the pound.

Ireland entered the euro in 1999. So it's been a while.

The exchange went on, and Kernen continued to show a not quite nuanced understanding of Ireland's history.

Quick and cohost Andrew Ross Sorkin sat in silence, doubtless wishing that the earth would open up and eat them:

JK: What about Scotland? I was using Scottish ... er ... 

MT: Scottish pounds. They use sterling. But we use euro.

JK: What?

MT: Why wouldn't we do that? 

JK: Why didn't Scotland?

MT: Well, they're part of the UK and we're not.

You can watch the full interview in the video below (the discussion in question starts at 6:55).  

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Fox Business Network's senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino joined Fox News' "Outnumbered" to show off his push-up skills following Steelers linebacker James Harrison's viral video cranking them out with a 300 lb. teammate on his back. 

"Can you really do a one-armed push-up?" host Sandra Smith asked. 

"This is not in my contract. You know that, right?" Gasparino said.

"Can you do it without splitting your pants?" Rachel Campos Duffy chimed in. 

"You will see my very large rear-end... Alright I'll do it. I'll do it," Gasparino said.

"We'll find out if he's wearing Spanx under there," Duffy said.  

"What are Spanx?" Gasparino asked before cranking out six one-armed pushups. 

"Now can you do it with Harris on your back?" Smith asked. 

"I might be able to do a regular pushup," he said. 

"With me on your back?" Harris Faulkner asked. 

He did it. 

They looked impressed. We are too. 

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A bunch of writers at CNBC.com have been let go as the company continues its effort to transition the web property to one that better integrates CNBC's video content.

Sources tell Business Insider *eight people may have been laid off.

Brian Steel, a spokesman for CNBC, confirmed that there had been personnel changes at the company.

"The total bloodbath was unexpected," said one source close to the situation. "They pushed out a lot of loyal, very qualified people."

In other words, CNBC employees are just finding out about this as it happens. Those who were laid off were called into HR one by one.

"It was like watching people get executed," the source said.

It's a clear sign that CNBC is trying to change. The company just brought back John Melloy, who left the company to become CEO of Stocktwits.com.

It also hired Eric Chemi, former head of data and research at Bloomberg. 

*An earlier version of this post said that about 20 people had been let go.

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Personal finance expert Suze Orman is leaving CNBC after spending 14 years at the business news network.

Orman will be teaming up with Warner Bros. Television Group's Telepictures to launch a new daily show called "Money Wars." 

"The Suze Orman" show is one of CNBC's highest rated shows even though it airs on Saturdays at 9 p.m. and midnight EST.

Here's the press release: 

Suze Orman, America’s foremost personal financial expert, is embarking on the next chapter of her television career, developing an all-new daily program to be produced by Warner Bros. Television Group’s Telepictures. The new show will be called Suze Orman’s Money Wars and will air five days per week.

Suze Orman’s Money Wars will focus on families, friends and couples whose disputes about money are affecting their lives. Understanding that fights about money are never really only about the money, Suze will use her signature ability to settle these disputes and help the opposing parties resolve their issues while starting them on the road to financial responsibility.

Orman will conclude her highly successful 14-year run as host of CNBC’s The Suze Orman Show in March 2015 as the longest-tenured program host in the network’s history. Reaching three million viewers on a weekly basis*, The Suze Orman Show helps people make the connection between self worth and net worth.

A two-time Emmy® winner and eight-time Gracie Award winner (which honors the nation’s best radio, television and cable programming for and about women), Orman is also the author of nine consecutive New York Times–best-sellers and is a magazine/online columnist. She was twice named to Time magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people and has been named by Forbes as one of the world’s 100 most powerful women. Orman has co-produced and hosted eight specials for PBS based on her best-selling books, and is one of the most successful fundraisers in the history of the network. She was also one of the most frequent guests on The Oprah Winfrey Show, making 30 appearances on the legendary syndicated TV program as a financial expert, and she is currently a contributing editor to O: The Oprah Magazine.

The last new episode of "The Suze Orman Show" will air on March 28, CNBC's president Mark Hoffman said in a memo to employees. 

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The catfight between CNBC and Fox Business Network at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is out of control.

The final straw: Fox Business Network anchor Maria Bartiromo was caught on tape talking about CNBC's production team nearby, saying, "Look what they're doing … they're embarrassing themselves." 

You can see it about three seconds into the video below (via TVNewser).

 

Bartiromo — who last year left the position she held for nearly 20 years as CNBC's "Money Honey"— was apparently just reacting to a CNBC employee's comment to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan as he was about to go to an interview with Fox Business Network.

"Ooooohhh. That's where you're headed," the CNBC employee said, according to TVNewser."They're no competition!"

Sadly, these are not the first punches that have been thrown between the two networks regarding this annual gathering of business, intellectual, and political leaders.

Last week, before anyone had even landed in Davos, Fox Business Network's senior correspondent Charles Gasparino went on the air and said that CNBC managing editor Nick Dunn would be wearing his "ass for a hat" after seeing how superior Fox's coverage of Davos would be to CNBC's.

And all this week Fox Business Network reporters have aired grievances with CNBC's behavior. They accuse CNBC of threatening guests, of telling them that if they don't do CNBC first, they don't do CNBC at all.

This made Gasparino, a former CNBC reporter, very upset. So he took to Twitter:

Fox Business' Liz Claman mentioned it on her show as well.

But here's the thing: This complaint from Fox Business Network is hardly new. In fact, it's common knowledge that CNBC is ruthless about getting guests first — not just in Davos but at every event, and at home.

Besides, we haven't heard anything from Bloomberg TV about it.

Carry on.

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Wall Street has been buzzing about this since last spring — the return of iconic show "Wall Street Week", revamped by Anthony Scaramucci's SkyBridge Capital and featuring an all-star roster of guests.

Now, after months of speculation, we finally have a premier date.

The first episode will air on Sunday morning, April 19th on local television stations in major U.S. markets including New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago and San Francisco. Anyone outside those areas will be able to stream the show from anywhere in the world on WallStreetWeek.com. 

"We're controlling the show from start to finish," Scaramucci said in the phone call with Business Insider. "The goal is to be very new age... to distribute and develop the information the way people digest it. It's a must-see weekly, and however you want to see it we'll make it available to you."

When "Wall Street Week" aired on PBS from 1970 to 2005 and it was a must-watch. Originally hosted by Louis Rukeyser, it featured discussions on the most important financial news of the day with investors, CEOs and policy-makers. 

SkyBridge's new version will use Scaramucci's storied Rolodex to do the same thing, with a modern, digital twist.

From the beginning SkyBridge's vision was to make this iteration of "Wall Street Week" a meeting of new media ideas — like making content available on demand and distributing it digitally — and a classic format of high level production and star guests.

This approach has ruffled some feathers in the world of money media. SkyBridge nabbed former CNBC producers Raymond Borelli and Susan Krakower to build Wall Street Week in-house. At CNBC, Krakower developed popular shows "Mad Money with Jim Cramer" and "Fast Money".

After the news that Krakower would leave CNBC for SkyBridge came out in May, CNBC and Scaramucci — who was a contributor on the network and gave it exclusive rights to his massive SALT Conference in Las Vegas — parted ways. 

"If you see what Susan’s done, she really broke the mold," Scaramucci said. "Her programming sensibilities have forged new ground."

And while the show's guest list won't be made public for a few weeks, SkyBridge has released the names of the executives and investors on its advisory board. In a word, the list is stacked. It includes Leon Cooperman, Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Omega Advisors; Mario Gabelli, Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Gabelli Asset Management; Marc Lasry, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Avenue Capital Group; Gary Kaminsky, Vice Chairman, Morgan Stanley; Mary Callahan Erdoes, Chief Executive Officer, J.P. Morgan Asset Management; and more.

"The reason why people are interested is because there's a lot of history with the show, there's nostalgia," Scaramucci said, adding that his advisory board would certainly have stints on the half hour program as guests.

Maybe SkyBridge will even keep the theme music.

Watch the throw-back Wall Street Week intro below:

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A reporter working on a story about financial media asked me to contribute five tips for a sidebar on how consumers can be savvier in their, well, consumption.

Here’s what I came up with:

1. Remember that everyone has a bias or agenda. Everyone (me too! and you!).
2. Don’t confuse someone else’s time frame for your own.
3. Know that 95% of what you read is contextual information, not actionable (which is perfectly fine).
4. Ignore all forecasts and price targets, except for entertainment purposes.
5. Hierarchy: Books > Articles > Blogs > Tweets

I learned a lot about what I actually thought about this topic in the process of researching and writing my book, Clash of the Financial Pundits. Having gone through the entire history of financial commentary and forecasting, I came to some pretty dramatic realizations that have forever changed the way I look at markets and investing.

If you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for?

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CNBC will not be covering SALT Las Vegas this year, the hedge fund conference that has become a must-attend event on Wall Street since investment firm SkyBridge capital launched it 7 years ago.

"We have no plans to cover SALT," said a source with knowledge of the situation.

CNBC used to have an exclusive deal to cover the conference on television. Set up just outside the main conference room, the biggest names on Wall Street could just drop by CNBC's set and chat between talks given by a star studded list of speakers ranging from former President Bill Clinton, to Third Point LLC founder Dan Loeb and actor Kevin Spacey. Last year Lenny Kravitz gave a concert.

But this year there will be none of that. SkyBridge founder Anthony Scaramucci parted ways with CNBC last summer. A former contributor to the network, his contract was left to lapse after he announced that he'd purchased the rights to re-air "Wall Street Week", a weekly financial news show that aired on PBS from 1970 to 2005.

Sources say that CNBC was upset that Scaramucci didn't disclose that he had purchased the rights to the show, even though he signed a non-disclosure agreement during the deal. It probably didn't help that he poached star CNBC producers Susan Krakower and Raymond Borelli to produce "Wall Street Week" either. Krakower created CNBC's "Fast Money" shows as well as "Mad Money with Jim Cramer."

"I can't comment on CNBC's executive decisions as it is sometimes hard to know what they are thinking," Scaramucci told Business Insider. "We will miss them but welcome Bloomberg and Fox Business to SALT and look forward to breaking news there."

This year SALT will take place at the Bellagio in Las Vegas from May 5th to May 8th. Speakers include former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and more.

A source familiar with CNBC's thinking seemed nonplussed: "CNBC receives requests to cover conferences that happen around the globe every day."

SEE ALSO: Now we know when the most iconic Wall Street show in decades is coming back on air

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In all the turmoil and head rolling at NBC, one change has gone almost unnoticed. Mark Hoffman, President of business network CNBC, is now reporting directly to NBC Universal CEO Steve Burke.

That's the very top.

Hoffman used to report to Pat Fili-Krushel the former NBC News Group Chairman, who then reported to Burke. Fili-Krushel, however, was caught in the tsunami that is the Brian Williams scandal. She oversaw CNBC, MSNBC, and NBC News and was replaced by former Bloomberg exec Andy Lack.

Lack will be overseeing MSNBC and NBC News, but not CNBC. 

"There are two schools of thought here," said one former CNBC employee. One is that CNBC is making so much money Hoffman deserves a leg up. The other is that Lack needs to focus on NBC and MSNBC not CNBC, and he doesn't need that extra responsibility."

Besides, now that Nightly News is in turmoil, CNBC has replaced it as the crown jewel of the network. 

"I think Hoffman went to Burke and said, 'Listen I've been $400 million in profit for you. You gave me one order, fix primetime and I fixed primetime. I'm not a problem unlike NBC and MSNBC,'" another source with knowledge of the network's thinking said.

The whole "fixing primetime" thing  wasn't a CNBC or Hoffman specific problem either. It's a reflection of how business news in general is changing in the digital era.

As with all things, the internet changed the game. News that once broke on television is instantly on news sites and social media. For CNBC and Hoffman, that meant that in order to keep the network healthy, the focus had to change from daytime ratings to primetime ratings.

According to one source, Hoffman's now-former boss, Fili-Krushel, suggested he change the focus of CNBC in the evenings away from pure business reporting and into a wider variety of content — from "first in business" to "first in money." Hoffman ran with the idea. 

This is why you're seeing programs like 'American Greed,' 'Shark Tank', 'The Profit' and an upcoming show called 'Restaurant Startup' at night on CNBC. 

Other sources point out that 'American Greed' just aired its 100th episode last month and that Hoffman has been pursuing reality TV as a primetime strategy for over 5 years.

"He's turned primetime into a success," said another source. "I'm not convinced you can do anything to change the trends."

Another way to look at Hoffman's seeming-promotion is as a return to the way things were. When Jeff Zucker was head of NBC Universal, Hoffman reported directly to him. Fili-Krushel's layer of management was added after Burke took over. Some insiders say that the layer was unnecessary in the first place.

There is some speculation out there that Hoffman wanted the job Lack just got. A couple sources we spoke to don't buy it.

"Mark's very philosophical," said a source familiar with his thinking. "He has it easy. He's got 2-3 years left... He goes from Scarsdale to Englewood Cliffs. He's been there for 10 years... "Here's his attitude 'I run a worldwide network and it makes money... I don't need headaches in my life.'"

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A big change just happened at CNBC after one of the senior level producers suddenly left for Fox Business Network.

Gary Schreier, the executive producer of "Closing Bell," is returning to Fox Business after a three-year stint at CNBC. He'll be joining Fox Business as the VP of programming, TV Newser's Brian Flood reported.

According to a memo obtained by Business Insider, Lisa Villalobos is now the executive producer of "Closing Bell" and Maxwell Meyers is now the EP of "Fast Money."

"As some of you know, these moves are triggered by the departure of Gary Schreier, who is returning to Fox Business after a three-year stint at CNBC," Nik Deogun, CNBC's editor-in-chief, wrote.

Here's a copy of the memo:

I’m pleased to announce new roles for two of our excellent executive producers: Lisa Villalobos and Maxwell Meyers. Lisa, who has been executive producer of “Fast Money” for the past 17 months, will become EP of “Closing Bell.” Max, who serves as EP of “Options Action,” as well as a number of digital initiatives, will be the new EP of “Fast Money.”

Both Max and Lisa have stellar track records. Prior to joining the “Fast Money” team, Lisa served as senior producer for “Squawk on the Street.”

Lisa came to CNBC in 2012 from Fox Business and helped launch two shows there. She also worked as a producer at Court TV and in online ad sales at ABC. She is a graduate of NYU.

Max is no stranger to “Fast Money” as he helped launch the program in 2006. He has since held a number of positions at CNBC, including senior producer for “The Strategy Session,” “Fast Money” and “Money in Motion.” Prior to joining CNBC, Max worked at CNNfn. He started his career at Bear Stearns and has written for Kiplinger's Personal Finance, The Bond Buyer and CNBC.com. He is a graduate of Skidmore College.

As some of you know, these moves are triggered by the departure of Gary Schreier, who is returning to Fox Business after a three-year stint at CNBC. I want to thank Gary for his work on “Closing Bell,” which he has so ably guided in his time here. Please join me in congratulating Lisa and Max on their new assignments.

Nik

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The reboot of "Wall Street Week"— a weekly show that ran on PBS from 1970 to 2005 — premiered Sunday on Fox affiliate stations in major cities across the country, and given the circumstances surrounding its creation, it's no surprise that Wall Street was talking about it on Monday.

"It will be interesting to see whether or not you get a 'Barron's bump' on Monday morning," said one industry insider, referring to the well-regarded weekly business journal.

The "bump" means the topics discussed on WSW on Sunday could move markets once they open on Monday. That's one huge measure of its impact on the Street. It takes a lot of work to get to that point, though, maybe even more than it took to create the first episode.

Host Anthony Scaramucci announced that his hedge fund, SkyBridge Capital, bought the rights to WSW on CNBC last spring. He also announced that he was hiring two CNBC veteran producers to create the show. Shortly after that, Scaramucci's contributors contract with CNBC was allowed to expire and he started contributing to Fox Business Network instead.

Most recently, another CNBC vet, former vice chairman of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Gary Kaminsky, was also drafted to host the show with Scaramucci.

"I like Gary [Kaminsky] a lot, and the producers know what they are doing. Anthony is probably doing what he was meant to be doing as a TV host, not a panelist or a market participant," said one a source familiar with Scaramucci's time at CNBC. "The show should be successful as long as he can attract A-list guests."

And in its first week, WSW did attract the crème de la crème of Wall Street. "Bond king" Jeff Gundlach did an extensive interview in which he explained the problems he sees developing in the junk-bond market. Charles Schwab strategist Liz Ann Sonders was also on hand.

"I was on the original show in 1987 and this show did a great job of copying and improving it," said Steve Kroll of investment firm Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co., Inc. "Since there was little advertising on it — still the best-kept secret on business out there. Guests were great and I look forward to more stock ideas."

Inside CNBC the word is silence. The show is not discussed. Some insiders say it's because CNBC doesn't care; others say that it's because CNBC reporters were forbidden from tweeting about the show or from going to the premiere party in New York City the Tuesday before it aired.

CNBC, for its part, wouldn't comment.

Not all of the feedback about the show was completely positive. Viewers from Los Angeles to Indiana voiced concerns about Scaramucci's opening monologue and the buddy repartee between him and Kaminsky. They're also calling for more engagement online.

Lets see if those wrinkles get ironed out.

Check out Gundlalch's interview here.

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Iconic financial TV show "Wall Street Week" is back and the guest lineup so far has been on point.

Sunday's episode will feature activist hedge fund manager Barry Rosenstein, the founder of $11 billion JANA Partners, according to sources familiar. Rosenstein is especially timely since his fund recently disclosed a $2 billion stake in wireless tech developer giant, Qualcomm.

This episode's panel will also include Eric Peters of Peters Capital Group. We've heard that it's Peters first time on TV. Peters writes a popular macro newsletter on Wall Street.

Amy Butte, the former CFO of the New York Stock Exchange, is also on the panel. 

The revived show debuted last weekend with an extensive interview with bond god, Jeffrey Gundlach, the founder and CEO of DoubleLine Capital.

Last spring, Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, said he would bring back "Wall Street Week." Scaramucci hosts alongside former Morgan Stanley Wealth Management vice chairman, Gary Kaminsky. Both of them spent many years on CNBC's airwaves. They also have deep rolodexes and the ability to get big guests on the show. 

"Wall Street Week" airs on Sundays on FOX affiliate stations in New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. The episodes can also be viewed online. 

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Bloomberg TV's star anchor Stephanie Ruhle and her husband, Andy Hubbard, are selling their beautiful Tribeca condo for $5.2 million. 

Ruhle is the cohost of "Market Makers" and Hubbard is currently a portfolio manager at UBS O'Connor (multi-strategy hedge fund) where he runs their structured credit strategies.

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On Tuesday evening around 2,000 hedge fund managers, DC insiders, Wall Street bankers, reporters, security experts, and will.i.am will descend on the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas for an annual four day meeting of the minds.

Business Insider will also be in the scrum covering the action live.

It's like this — SALT Las Vegas, an annual conference hosted by investment firm SkyBridge Capital, is the biggest hedge fund conference of the year, and the entire Street will be either there, or listening for the nuggets of news that come from there.

The agenda includes on and off the record talks with everyone from former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, to Sir Richard Branson, who is holding a talk about drug legalization. Michael J Fox will be there, and so will hedge fund managers like Kyle Bass, Jim Chanos and Leon Cooperman. James Carville and Karl Rove will share the stage for a panel on the 2016 Presidential election.

That's just a slice of the conference action. 

There's some behind-the-scenes drama underlying the whole event too. CNBC once had exclusive rights to put SALT on air, but since the network broke with SkyBridge CEO Anthony Scaramucci last summer, Bloomberg and Fox Business Network are covering it this year. CNBC will be nowhere. Insiders expect the other two networks to really turn it up in CNBC's absence.

So anyway — you can imagine this is a pretty colorful event.

To get you all caught up, lets run down some highlights from last year:

• Appaloosa Management's David Tepper sent markets rolling when he told an entire audience of money-runners that he was "nervous" about the global economy. "I think we're OK. But, listen, there's times to make money and there's times not to lose money," he said. This is probably you're supposed to think about preserving some of your money...I think you can still be long, but I think you're supposed to have some cash now."
• Fox Business Network's senior correspondent Charles Gasparino wears a fanny pack.
• Famed short-seller Jim Chanos absolutely nailed his call that Macau, once the world's gambling mega center, was about to collapse. Since his call gambling revenue on the island has fallen by 50%. Casino stocks are hurting, especially Wynn Resorts, and no one knows when the carnage will end except Chinese President Xi Jinping.
• Author/investor Nassim Taleb got into it with economist Larry Summers (are you shocked?)
• Lenny Kravitz rocked the house.
• SkyBridge founder Anthony Scaramucci announced that he was reviving the show, Wall Street Week, and taking some CNBC heavy-hitters to do it. The show's been on for two weeks now, and we have to say the guest list has been stacked!
• Men wore a lot of plaid jackets.
• Nouriel Roubini laid out 6 risks to the global economy, and some have only gotten worse over the last year. Take this one for example: "Putin is not just after Ukraine, he wants to create  a Eurasian union," he said. Roubini nailed the risk of a downturn in China as well.

Check out the full SALT agenda here, and we'll let you know when we land in Vegas.

And here's Gasparino in a fanny pack again. Just because.

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Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo likes to use her own on-air earpiece, so she keeps her personal piece, which is molded to her ear, in her bag.

The markets editor let Us Weekly take a look inside her Prada tote.

In addition to the earpiece, they found Harman Kardon headphones, Vicks menthol cough drops, a handful of pens and highlighters in a Ziploc bag, and a special red ribbon tied in a bow that her mother gave her for good luck.

"I never take it out because it’s from my mom," she told Us Weekly.

Take a look at her purse and its contents over at Us Weekly »

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Business Insider has heard that Fox Business Network is making some "huge" changes to its show lineup.

TVNewser is also reporting that Fox Business will be announcing changes to its show schedule this afternoon.

Those changes include Maria Bartiromo moving to the 6 am to 9 am ET time slot where Don Imus currently anchors "Imus In the Morning." He's going off the air at the end of this month.

As part of the lineup shift, Stuart Varney's show "Varney & Co." will start airing from 9 am until noon instead of its current slot of 11 am until 1 pm.

A source speculated that it's "no surprise" that Varney is the "winner" with the 2016 election coming up. 

Bartiromo has been anchoring "Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo" on Fox Business since the first quarter of 2014. With the early morning show she'll now go head-to-head with CNBC's "Squawk Box."

Bartiromo joined Fox Business Network after spending 20 years on CNBC's airwaves.

TVNewser is also reporting that Trish Regan, who just joined Fox Business from Bloomberg TV, will anchor the 2 pm hour. We're also hearing that Melissa Francis will co-anchor the 4 pm hour with David Asman and that Liz Claman will be on at 3. 

Representatives from Fox Business did not respond to requests for comment. 

Here's a copy of the current Fox Business schedule: 

6a - 9a Imus in the Morning Don Imus Business, politics, and popular culture news--The Old Cowboy takes on Washington heavyweights and business insiders alike to keep you updated!

9a - 11a Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo Maria Bartiromo “The Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo” is the business show investors watch for the most up-to-date news of the morning from around the world and the headline guests you want to hear from.

11a - 1p Varney & Co Stuart Varney Veteran journalist Stuart Varney and his business savvy team give you the 411 on Wall Street.

1p - 2p Risk & Reward with Deirdre Bolton Deirdre Bolton Deirdre Bolton takes you beyond stocks and bonds into the world of alternative investing. She brings viewers new ways to make money and better ways to keep it.

2p - 3p MONEY w/ Melissa Francis Melissa Francis A breakdown of the day’s top stories and how those stories impact the American taxpayer.

3p - 4p Countdown to the Closing Bell with Liz Claman Liz Claman We're counting down to the close of the markets!

4p - 5p After the Bell David Asman, Liz Claman Anchors Liz Claman and David Asman bring viewers the breaking news after the bell and explain what it means for them, their investments, and the market tomorrow.

5p - 6p The Willis Report Gerri Willis Investigating top business stories, outing corporate scams and policing D.C. policy! Uncovering the real stories behind business headlines.

6p - 7p Making Money with Charles Payne Charles Payne “Making Money with Charles Payne” will be joined by a panel of business and market experts to debate the headlines, give viewers an end-of-day wrap, and provide an insider’s look at tomorrow’s money makers

7p - 8p Lou Dobbs Tonight Lou Dobbs Get a breakdown of the day’s top stories and how they impact the economy!

8p - 9p Cavuto Neil Cavuto Trusted, experienced and straight shooting ... it is the number one name in business.

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Wall Street barely noticed that CNBC didn't cover SALT, the biggest hedge fund conference of the year held in Las Vegas last week.

"Don't know if CNBC really made a difference," said one hedge fund executive. "Right now it's all about Twitter coverage and stuff. Less about TV."

CNBC gave up its exclusive rights to cover the conference after a public disagreement with SALT creator, SkyBridge Capital CEO Anthony Scaramucci.

Last year at SALT, Scaramucci announced that his firm had purchased the rights to Wall Street Week, a Sunday morning show now airing online and on Fox stations in major markets around the country. Shortly after that announcement, CNBC allowed his contributor agreement to lapse.

"Looks like big media can't always push around big managers," said one SALT delegate who noticed the network wasn't on site.

Of course, this isn't to say that CNBC didn't have other coverage, or that Wall Street wasn't watching it. SALT is a hedge fund conference, after all, and that's just one segment of the financial services industry. 

Fast Money's Melissa Lee spent last week covering the FinTech eMerge Conference in Miami, a Latin American tech conference. Sources tell Business Insider that no one there noted CNBC's absence from another conference going on across the country.

"Even though SALT is the biggest, it's not the only game in town," said the source. "Fintech is exploding now so technically CNBC was in the right place at the right time."

And even if they weren't, even CNBC fans had other non-TV outlets to go for drops of news.

"If you guys [Business Insider] weren't writing and tweeting about it I might have not known it was going on," said one veteran trader who did not attend the conference. "That comes from a CNBC centric guy obviously. I don't follow Fox of Bloomberg people, don't watch their shows I [also] don't know anyone in the business in my network who went and didn't see any news break from it... So I have no axe to grind, but did CNBC not being there make a difference to the normal buzz or is it that i am just out of the loop?"

Good question.

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Prolific Tweeter and Fox Business Network senior correspondent Charles Gasparino will be in the June issue of Playboy magazine.

The outspoken Wall Street reporter participated in a "20Q" interview.

Naturally, he's his uncensored self, and in the spirit of letting it all hang out, Gasparino explained to Playboy why he goes totally nuclear on Twitter.  

Q19
Let’s talk about Twitter. In November you tweeted a number of insults at Ron Insana of CNBC. You called him “fat boy,” “fat slob,” “not just fat but dumb,” “disgusting slob” and, for an encore, “a putrid, balding, disgusting fat-cat bootlicking sycophantic douche.” Is that any way for an adult to talk?

If you’re going to throw the first punch at me, be ready for nuclear war. Telling someone to go f**** themselves is completely within the bounds of ethics, especially when they’re wrong and I’m right. Truth is a defense. The guy we’re talking about is a fat, unctuous, sycophantic Wall Street suck-up. He’d been saying stuff about me behind the scenes, and then one day he said it on Twitter, and I lost it. I’m a combative person. I have to admit, I am kind of a prick at times. Even my friends will say, “He’s an ass****.” 

Q20
Does your wife read your Twitter posts?
Yes. And she says, “Oh my God, what are you doing?” Often.

We reached out to Ron Insana for comment on Gasparino's Playboy interview. We have not reached out to Mrs. Gasparino.

Read the full interview here>>

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Bloomberg TV's Joe Weisenthal was accosted by an individual and had his microphone snatched out of his hand while doing a live segment in Athens. 

Weisenthal handled the situation well, remaining calm while someone on his tech team attempted to retrieve the stolen microphone.

He also showed a good sense of humor. Afterward, Weisenthal took a selfie with the person.

It's live TV. Anything can happen.

Check it out: 

Here's the clip:

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