From Cancer Research to Stock Picking for CNBC’s Kernen

CNBC’s Joe Kernen spoke with his hometown newspaper, the Cincinnati Enquirer about the markets, the ratings and the lowly hometown Bengals.

Kernen’s show, Squawk Box, was up 115% from October ’07 in the A25-54 demo and up 103% year-over-year in Total Viewers — its best month ever.

With a molecular biology degree from MIT, Kernen’s first job was in cancer research, but his “college stock-trading hobby became his career.” Kernen spent 10 years at several brokerage houses (including the now defunct Lehman Brothers) before getting in to TV. And while he’s come a long way since Cincinnati, the city still influences him. “I can’t say enough good things about St. Xavier,” says Kernen about his high school. “And I still follow the Bengals, but it’s not easy.”

When asked which will rebound first, the markets or the 0-8 Bengals, Kernen says, “I’d better choose another career if (the markets) are going to be that bad for that long.”

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