When Obama took it on himself to fire GM CEO Rick Wagnoner, this is how it went down, according to someone who ought to know: “The president said he had decided to do that. He wasn’t asking for opinions,” said … Continue reading →
Most of us are unfamiliar with the details of the world of finance that led us into the current crisis. Except for those in the business, whoever heard of tranches and derivatives, of the uptick rule and the quants, until … Continue reading →
I noticed—in this piece that purports to tell us what jobs are probably not going to go out of style in the near (or even distant) future—that “accountant” led the list. Well, that’s awfully nice—for accountants. But having been up … Continue reading →
It’s hard to know exactly what to think of this: …[T]he private-sector worries about the plans being cooked up by Geithner and Summers extend into countless corporate suites, start-ups, and small businesses far beyond Wall Street””and that until recently, the … Continue reading →
There’s an awful lot of outrage going around. The American people are outraged that their hard-earned money has been taken from their pockets and doled out by Congress and the administrations (Bush’s first, and now especially Obama’s) with virtually no … Continue reading →
When it’s a contractual obligation. Not having a lot of experience in the corporate world myself (my only stint having been a summer job in college) I always thought the word “bonus” meant something extra, a special payment given for … Continue reading →
…that the law is an ass. Is there no way for the Obama administration to stop huge amounts of taxpayer money from getting to the very executives responsible (or irresponsible) for making such lousy and self-serving decisions, and bringing us … Continue reading →
I hadn’t previously been aware of these facts about controversial Harvard ex-President and current National Economic Council head Larry Summers: Born in New Haven, Connecticut, on November 30, 1954, Summers is the son of two economists, Robert Summers and Anita … Continue reading →
There’s a lengthy and heated argument going on today about what caused the recession. Not surprisingly, people are inclined to see what fits in with their worldview. Conservatives and libertarians tend to be on the “it’s the fault of too … Continue reading →
Here’s a link to Madoff’s confession in full. It’s a fascinating document, both for what it says and what it doesn’t say. Madoff is very careful to implicate only himself in the fraud. In his description of how it was … Continue reading →
In breaking news, Bernard Madoff admits his crimes, and apologizes. No, not this apology (starting at 00:40): This one. I’m watching on cable news, and the description of Madoff in court is that his affect was flat and bland as … Continue reading →
Sometimes a seemingly random word or two can be very instructive, if you want to know what a person really thinks. That is the reason I (and so many others) paid quite a bit of attention to a couple of … Continue reading →