It was 6 o’clock in the morning and I was halfway through my day by then. I was sick — as I sometimes was working the early morning shift at CNBC — and needed to leave my on-air duties after anchoring the show to spare viewers my congested voice and runny eyes. It would have just been another random, “blah” Friday if I hadn’t shared a car back into the city with one of my favorite guests.

Brian Sozzi was my go-to whiz analyst to book on my show. He became the young stud stock picker that Wall Street paid respect and attention to. To boot, he was up at all hours like me and had the best and wittiest newsletters on the Street out before dawn.

Until I crashed his car ride back into the city that day, I had only known Brian as someone who quickly made it into my team photo of rockstar guests. I was his biggest professional fan for no other reason than that he deserved it. He gained esteem on merit by out-working the rest and through intense pavement pounding.

It was somewhere on the GW bridge that Brian shared his personal story with me. He confided in me that he didn’t grow up in a family who read The Wall Street Journal everyday and that he was driven to succeed through pure sweat equity. He told me that his former self would be proud of all that he’s accomplished and marvel at the knowledge he has of the economy and markets. He also said that even though he went to school for economics, it wasn’t until after 8 years on Wall Street that he didn’t feel like he needed a definition for a definition of market terms or catch phrases thrown out on business television.

And that’s when it became more than a ride-share. Our philosophies on discussing and interpreting market action were perfectly aligned. We both wanted to speak to our generation in plain English and decode the news for those in the industry — even CEOs — who we spoke to and were amazed to find smiling and nodding at basic tenants of the global economy because they were scared to say they didn’t get it.

That random Friday forged one of the most significant partnerships of my career. So it is with great pride, on another very significant Friday, that I announce that Brian has agreed to join me as the Chief Business Development Officer for Nothing But Gold Productions and the co-author of my Decoding the Wall Street Journal book and newsletter.

Brian, you are the ying to my business yang. Welcome aboard. Can’t wait to make history with you!

By: Nicole Lapin

We’ve seen it happen in the US: states strapped for cash selling off municipal bonds to assuage their creditors. Could eurobonds be the solution to sovereign debt crises in Europe?

That’s what I asked Peter Morici, noted economist and professor at the R.H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, my guest on “Worldwide Exchange” a few weeks ago.

His answer was simple: don’t hold your breath.

Eurobonds, or bonds that are originated by individual member states and backed by all the states, are touted by some as the solution du jour to some of the EU’s most pressing financial concerns, including Greece’s sovereign debt. According to many economists – including Morici – it’s not so much an issue of whether or not eurobonds could, in theory, stymie some of the debt; it’s whether or not the structure of the EU can support the relief they might provide.

“For EU bonds to have credibility, Brussels would have to have taxing authority similar to Washington and a fiscal purpose for those bonds,” said Morici, noting that Brussels would have to take over some of the government responsibilities now handled by member states.

For a government institution carefully constructed to avoid the centralization of power like the EU, the concept is inherently problematic.

Stephen Gallo, Head of Market Analysis for Schneider Foreign Exchange, agrees that eurobonds could work – but with several important caveats:

First, he said that eurobonds should not be linked to the notion of a centralized European Treasury, like that in the US, no matter how much closer Europe gets to behaving more like a political union over time.  Again, it’s a matter of structure.

“We don’t by any means want Europe and the euro area copying or mirroring the US model!” he warned, adding that a centralized treasury without state autonomy over issuing debt or spending money could result in fiscal woes like many US states are in right now.

“Centralized Treasury causes money to be wasted, rather than apportioned or spent carefully,” he said.

Besides, said Morici, “The UK, Germany and others are not about to give the EU Parliament that kind of authority.” According to him, the contributions of the member states will continue to be reached by consensus.

Gallo said that, rather than thinking of eurobonds as ready solutions, they should be used as “a post-crisis vehicle to raise financing once reforms for some member states are in place and being implemented, and once macroeconomic governance of the euro area has been streamlined.” He cited Germany as a good example: the German government issues eurobonds then uses the proceeds to swallow peripheral losses.

In addition, Gallo said that once the framework has been established, eurobonds would be a good tool to cover euro area member states’ borrowing requirements — up to the 60% of GDP debt rule in the Maastricht Criteria. Any debt issued over and above 60% by individual member states would be financed by sovereign bonds at prevailing market interest rates.

The best part? According to Gallo, “this would mean that euro area member states are only on the hook for their peers’ debt (in the event of a default) — up to 60% of GDP but not beyond.”

So what about Greece?

“Speaking about Eurobonds as a solution to the Greek sovereign debt crisis is similar talking about the missing pieces in EU institutions — the ability to tax EU-wide to provide for health care and the like and then redistribute tax revenues on the basis of need,” Morici said. “Don’t hold your breathe on that.”

If Obama really wanted to take a hard line and “git ‘er done” with the debt-ceiling debate, shouldn’t he have just pulled a Reagan, picked up a pen, and written a proposal himself? Read more at http://www.cnbc.com/id/43989523

Dunkin’ Brands CEO Nigel Travis joins Nicole Lapin on CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange” for his first interview since the company announced its IPO.

“We are lucky,” Dunkin’ Brands CEO Travis said this morning on CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange” during his first interview since the company’s IPO was announced. Read why at http://www.cnbc.com/id/43910851

I’m short kicking the can and long…kicking the can on this week’s short/long list! http://www.cnbc.com/id/43858086

Nicole Lapin discusses the ongoing plight of the Winkelvoss twins on MSNBC’s “Jansing & Co.” with Chris Jansing.

Fashion has never and will never be my strong suit — thankfully @robertverdi is there so I can just focus on my job and the news.

“At a time when unemployment is high and bank account balances are low, people are passing the time by getting busy,” Stefan Dallakian, the owner of Paris Intimates – an online sex toy distributor—told me. Read more at http://www.cnbc.com/id/43839344

Malamud (far right, at an NFL Gala) left her job as a director of marketing and social media to found her own company and establish herself as a food blogger. Read her story at http://www.cnbc.com/id/43825147