FOX anchor confuses Apple with Abu Dhabi

On Friday, I noted the need for improving geography education in the United States, citing a survey by National Geographic that found many students know very little about the world in which we live. It now appears that some folks over at the FOX Business Channel need a little remedial education as well.

On Friday’s Money for Breakfast, anchors Alexis Glick and Peter Barnes reported that computer maker Apple would be buying a stake in chip manufacturer AMD, which their on-hand commentator described as a “brilliant” move. (This would come as surprising news to everybody in the tech world who is aware of Apple’s two-year-old deal with Intel, AMD’s arch-rival.) The anchors quickly caught their mistake and attempted to correct themselves:

BARNES: “And we are getting some more news [inaudible]”

GLICK: “That, oh, it’s not Apple. Let me just correct ourselves here. It is not Apple. [cross talk] Alright, I’m sorry, we got a little ahead of ourselves here on that. Um, Apple Dubai? Abu Dubai.” [sic]

BARNES: “Oh, the Arabs. Ok.”

GLICK: “Oh, ok, there we go. [Laughs] We thought it was Apple! We got so excited about it!”

The Arabs in Apple Dubai? Are you kidding me? In fact, the Financial Times had actually reported that investors in Abu Dhabi, the extremely wealthy capital of the United Arab Emirates, had purchased an 8.1 percent stake in AMD. Despite the fact that there is no such place as “Abu Dubai,” Barnes repeated the made-up name later in the program. Who wants to trust these clowns for investment advice? Looks like Rupert’s got some kinks to work out in his new network.