Taking Names

Sign of the Times?

The Financial Times held its annual party Tuesday night in the District for the first time. Was the event’s migration from its customary home in New York coincidence - or an acknowledgement of where the real financial clout now lies?

A light projection on a wall of Georgetown’s sprawling Halcyon House read, “We live in Financial Times.” On a day when the stock market plunged to nearly a 10-year low, truer words were never, er, projected.

Guest of honor Jeffrey R. Immelt, chairman and chief executive of General Electric, seemed unfazed by the market turmoil. “We are in the midst of a negative feedback cycle right now,” he said. “Economic growth is slow, so people want to sell off, so economic growth is slower. In the midst of a negative feedback cycle, if you give people more tax breaks, they’re just going to put it under the mattress. It’s probably a time when the government has to be involved.”

Mr. Immelt shared the pep talk he has offered to managers at GE, one of the world’s 10 largest corporations: “You were put on Earth for this moment. A dog could have managed the ‘90s. Anybody could have, but only the best can do 2009!”

Recent Internet chatter has speculated about why on-air personalities such as David Gregory and Mika Brzezinski at GE subsidiary NBC and MSNBC seem to be flocking to Twitter, the social networking and news site. Could it be in part because of Six Sigma, GE’s management strategy?

Is Mr. Immelt a Six Sigma expert, or “Black Belt” as they’re called? “No,” he confessed. “I never was.”

Nor, we confirmed, are MSNBC’s Chris Matthews or Luke Russert. Yet Mr. Immelt was able to appreciate Tina Fey’s spoof of Six Sigma in a recent episode of the NBC hit “30 Rock.”

“I laughed!” he said, with a smile.

A dubious ally

Chris Brown may not want Terrence Howard in his peanut gallery.

Police and court records show that the Oscar nominee (“Hustle & Flow”) and “Iron Man” co-star- who backtracked last week on initially supportive remarks he made about Mr. Brown’s reported attack on singer Rihanna - was arrested in 2001 in Pennsylvania on suspicion of assaulting his wife, Lori McCommas, E! Online reports.

When confronted by police, Mr. Howard confessed to hitting her, according to documents obtained by the Smoking Gun.

The duo had been estranged for more than two years when Mr. Howard, fuming after a contentious phone conversation, broke down the front door of Miss McCommas’ house, states a Whitemarsh Police Department report dated Sept. 17, 2001.

Per the report, Mr. Howard told Miss McCommas, “Don’t disrespect me by hanging up on me or I’ll come over and hurt you.” She called 911, and while she was talking to the dispatcher, the actor arrived and tried to get in.

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