Something interesting has come out of the vetting process for Hillary Clinton as President-elect Obama's Secretary of State, and it strikes me as bad news for the struggling financial sector. Don't get me wrong; I didn't say that it is bad news, but if I were affiliated with Citigroup (C: sentiment, chart, options) , Goldman Sachs (GS: sentiment, chart, options) , Lehman Brothers (LEH: sentiment, chart, options) , or Merrill Lynch (MER: sentiment, chart, options) , I'm not sure I would want news of a $2.1-million payout for 13 speeches on the company's behalf by President Clinton surfacing right now. Again, I know that this money is a mere drop in the bucket for these firms, and it could actually be a discounted price - but public relations in the wake of the recent bailouts most certainly didn't need this.

Again, perception is a major part of reality, and 3 of these banks have either collapsed (LEH) or received federal bailout money. Perhaps spending this much money for the former President to speak on their behalf wasn't money well-spent. This spending smacks of the college kid that just got his first credit card and is busy furnishing his dorm room with big TVs, game stations, MP3 players, and is paying for pizza night (believe me, I speak from experience). Once again, I understand that this money ($700,000 from C; $550,000 from GS; $300,000 from LEH; and $175,000 from MER) was a drop in the bucket, but that is the past. Looking at the firms, it doesn't seem that this news is impacting the stock prices, as most of them are flirting with breakeven. Of course, C is more than 5% higher, but 5% is a mere 35 cents ... I believe I have that in my top desk drawer.