Housing prices are falling around the country, but this one sounds hard to believe: A seaside mansion on Jupiter Island in Florida, bought for more than $13 million five years ago, was just sold for $10. Skip to next paragraph Enlarge This Image Karen Bleier/Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images Richard S. Fuld Jr., the former chairman and chief executive of Lehman Brothers, testifying at a Congressional hearing last October. Related Times Topics: Richard S. Fuld Jr. | Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Mr. Fuld's wife, Kathleen. That's right, 10 bucks. But in this case, the transaction is likely to raise eyebrows for reasons other than the price.The seller, according to county records, was Richard S. Fuld Jr., the former chairman and chief executive of Lehman Brothers. The buyer was his wife, Kathleen. The motivation is unclear, but Mr. Fuld has been under intense scrutiny since Lehman declared bankruptcy in September.The longtime leader of the brokerage firm is at the center of a federal investigation into whether Lehman executives misled investors about the state of the company. And he was grilled by lawmakers at a Congressional hearing in October.
Housing prices are falling around the country, but this one sounds hard to believe: A seaside mansion on Jupiter Island in Florida, bought for more than $13 million five years ago, was just sold for $10. Skip to next paragraph Enlarge This Image Karen Bleier/Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images
Richard S. Fuld Jr., the former chairman and chief executive of Lehman Brothers, testifying at a Congressional hearing last October. Related Times Topics: Richard S. Fuld Jr. | Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
Mr. Fuld's wife, Kathleen.
That's right, 10 bucks. But in this case, the transaction is likely to raise eyebrows for reasons other than the price.
The seller, according to county records, was Richard S. Fuld Jr., the former chairman and chief executive of Lehman Brothers. The buyer was his wife, Kathleen.
The motivation is unclear, but Mr. Fuld has been under intense scrutiny since Lehman declared bankruptcy in September.
The longtime leader of the brokerage firm is at the center of a federal investigation into whether Lehman executives misled investors about the state of the company. And he was grilled by lawmakers at a Congressional hearing in October.
Beleaguered Citigroup is upgrading its mile-high club with a brand-new $50 million corporate jet - only this time, it's the taxpayers who are getting screwed. Even though the bank's stock is as cheap as a gallon of gas and it's burning through a $45 billion taxpayer-funded rescue, the airhead execs pushed through the purchase of a new Dassault Falcon 7X, according to a source familiar with the deal. The French-made luxury jet seats up to 12 in a plush interior with leather seats, sofas and a customizable entertainment center, according to Dassault's sales literature. It can cruise 5,950 miles before refueling and has a top speed of 559 mph. There are just nine of these top-of-the-line models in the United States, with Dassault's European factory churning out three to four 7Xs a month.
Beleaguered Citigroup is upgrading its mile-high club with a brand-new $50 million corporate jet - only this time, it's the taxpayers who are getting screwed.
Even though the bank's stock is as cheap as a gallon of gas and it's burning through a $45 billion taxpayer-funded rescue, the airhead execs pushed through the purchase of a new Dassault Falcon 7X, according to a source familiar with the deal.
The French-made luxury jet seats up to 12 in a plush interior with leather seats, sofas and a customizable entertainment center, according to Dassault's sales literature. It can cruise 5,950 miles before refueling and has a top speed of 559 mph.
There are just nine of these top-of-the-line models in the United States, with Dassault's European factory churning out three to four 7Xs a month.
It's a corporate jet. It probably counts as a legitimate business expense.
Or something.
There are HBS cases on Ken Chenault, son of Golub. I bet I still have one, but I loathe going to the closet.
"Q: You went to law school. Tell us about how you went into the corporate world. A: I had very little exposure to business growing up. I also was very focused on the civil rights movement. And I saw law as a vehicle to really bring about substantial change. But I probably had a, clearly now, incorrect view of people in business. Q: Incorrect in the sense that, you would stereotype them as being A: Stuffy, not that open, more closed. Q: Greedy? A: Not necessarily greedy because, frankly, again, my exposure was relatively limited and it was more a feeling of just the unknown. Q: How do you get to be a CEO from a starting place like that? A: I've always tried to seek out environments with excitement. So when I went to Bain & Co., I knew nothing about consulting. The reason I went to Bain is, I thought there were incredibly intelligent people there, and I felt excitement in the place."
Parson's big break was leveraging Dime Savings Bank's takeover of Starpointe. But he said he owed the Rockefeller family, whose lawn his grandfather gardened. This biopic from NYT, 1990 is pretty funny; I didn't know he was married to Laura Bush!
Mr. Parsons faces high expectations outside of his job as well. Charities, civic causes and company boards always try to recruit corporate chiefs, but as a black Republican, he has special allure. He is on the boards of Howard University, the New York Zoological Society and Philip Morris Companies Inc. He is a member of the President's Drug Task Force and chairman of the Wildcat Service Corporation, which provides on-the-job instruction for those whose past crimes, drug addiction or poverty might otherwise make them unemployable. "I don't fool myself that all these opportunities to participate come to me just because I'm a great American," he said. "People in this society are always looking for minorities to be involved." ... Mr. Parsons describes his own political philosophy succinctly. "I am still a Rockefeller Republican," he said, "fiscally conservative, socially liberal." The Rockefeller influence permeates his life. His office, which looks out on Rockefeller Center, is decorated with copies of Rockefeller's paintings and sculpture, gifts after Mr. Parsons helped launch a reproduction project. A favorite lunch spot is the Rockefeller Center Club, the dining room atop Rockefeller Center known as the Rainbow Room at night.
Mr. Parsons describes his own political philosophy succinctly. "I am still a Rockefeller Republican," he said, "fiscally conservative, socially liberal." The Rockefeller influence permeates his life. His office, which looks out on Rockefeller Center, is decorated with copies of Rockefeller's paintings and sculpture, gifts after Mr. Parsons helped launch a reproduction project. A favorite lunch spot is the Rockefeller Center Club, the dining room atop Rockefeller Center known as the Rainbow Room at night.
We desperately need to reform corporate organization and executive comp. Cap salaries at fifty grand, and if the CEO's really good, give him some stock in the company (and make him hold it so that he has skin in the game).
It's completely insane. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
This jet thing is the kind of silly distractions from real problems we're offered by the media; it's cheap populism but it does nothing to solve issues about labor rights or wages that would be a lot more important. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
As the economic effects of the financial crisis deepen, it has become surprisingly cheap to pollute. Prices for carbon dioxide emissions permits have fallen below 12 euro per ton. Some companies are selling them to generate much needed cash. The ongoing financial crisis, as has become clear in recent weeks, is bad for both budgets and business. It is also, it turns out, bad for the environment. Emissions trading certificates have recently become much cheaper. Prices for carbon dioxide emission certificates in Europe have fallen drastically in recent weeks as companies have slowed down production to keep pace with falling demand. In addition, some companies have begun selling their certificates as a way of generating much needed -- and otherwise difficult to obtain -- cash. The result has been an oversupply of emissions certificates that has driven the price down below €12 ($15.58) for every ton of CO2 emitted. As recently as last summer the price was close to €30 ($38.94) per ton.
As the economic effects of the financial crisis deepen, it has become surprisingly cheap to pollute. Prices for carbon dioxide emissions permits have fallen below 12 euro per ton. Some companies are selling them to generate much needed cash.
The ongoing financial crisis, as has become clear in recent weeks, is bad for both budgets and business. It is also, it turns out, bad for the environment.
Emissions trading certificates have recently become much cheaper. Prices for carbon dioxide emission certificates in Europe have fallen drastically in recent weeks as companies have slowed down production to keep pace with falling demand. In addition, some companies have begun selling their certificates as a way of generating much needed -- and otherwise difficult to obtain -- cash. The result has been an oversupply of emissions certificates that has driven the price down below €12 ($15.58) for every ton of CO2 emitted. As recently as last summer the price was close to €30 ($38.94) per ton.
PARIS: In the latest wave of retrenchment by global banks, ING Group, the Dutch financial services company, said Monday that it would cut 7,000 jobs this year and that its chief executive would step down as it sought government guarantees for toxic mortgage debt. Its European peers Barclays and BNP Paribas sought to reassure investors about their 2008 earnings to ease concerns about their health, and shares of all three banks soared. The announcements Monday came as the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, said he would invite top executives of the world's largest banks to London to confer on the global financial crisis in advance of a meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 industrialized and emerging economies to be held April 2 in the British capital. Brown said that the government would propose a "charter of principles" governing financial institutions and that "the measures that then flow from that, whether in relation to hedge funds or derivatives or other financial products, will be in line with principles of transparency and proper disclosure and people assessing and managing their risks."
PARIS: In the latest wave of retrenchment by global banks, ING Group, the Dutch financial services company, said Monday that it would cut 7,000 jobs this year and that its chief executive would step down as it sought government guarantees for toxic mortgage debt.
Its European peers Barclays and BNP Paribas sought to reassure investors about their 2008 earnings to ease concerns about their health, and shares of all three banks soared.
The announcements Monday came as the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, said he would invite top executives of the world's largest banks to London to confer on the global financial crisis in advance of a meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 industrialized and emerging economies to be held April 2 in the British capital.
Brown said that the government would propose a "charter of principles" governing financial institutions and that "the measures that then flow from that, whether in relation to hedge funds or derivatives or other financial products, will be in line with principles of transparency and proper disclosure and people assessing and managing their risks."
Yet, the uncomfortable fact remains that some of those who will be in Davos this week are widely blamed for having created the current crisis - not least because they so notably failed to predict it. Two years ago, during the peak of the credit boom in January 2007, the mood at Davos was so exuberant that private-equity players were lauded as the new stars. Even last January, optimism was high that the financial crisis was short-lived. And this year's event has already delivered one small embarrassment. The organisers have billed this week's meeting as "Shaping the Post-Crisis World", since they assumed until recently that the turmoil would be over by now. "It's a bit unfortunate, but maybe it is good to be positive," one official at the WEF observed last week. It is a sentiment that many at the Swiss resort might like to share.
The organisers have billed this week's meeting as "Shaping the Post-Crisis World", since they assumed until recently that the turmoil would be over by now. "It's a bit unfortunate, but maybe it is good to be positive," one official at the WEF observed last week. It is a sentiment that many at the Swiss resort might like to share.
The International Monetary Fund is caught in a stand-off between members over whether to label China's currency as "fundamentally misaligned", a politically explosive move that could stoke global tension over economic imbalances.The issue is so controversial the IMF's executive board has not discussed the Chinese economy since 2006, in spite of rules saying it should regularly assess member economies.The decision touches directly on one of the most divisive issues among governments worldwide: the extent to which huge current account deficits and surpluses and artificially managed exchange rates have contributed to the financial crisis. Washington has long pressed Beijing to let the renminbi rise.
The issue is so controversial the IMF's executive board has not discussed the Chinese economy since 2006, in spite of rules saying it should regularly assess member economies.
The decision touches directly on one of the most divisive issues among governments worldwide: the extent to which huge current account deficits and surpluses and artificially managed exchange rates have contributed to the financial crisis. Washington has long pressed Beijing to let the renminbi rise.
Fannie Mae, the largest source of home-loan money in the U.S., said it will need to tap as much as $16 billion in emergency funds from the U.S. Treasury Department to stay afloat as deterioration in the housing market persists. Fannie's planned request, announced today, follows Freddie Mac, which said Jan. 23 that it will need as much as $35 billion more in federal aid. Unprecedented mortgage losses drove the net worth of both companies below zero last quarter, they said in separate securities filings. This will be Washington-based Fannie's first draw on a $200 billion emergency fund set up by Treasury in September to keep the government-sponsored enterprises solvent. Fannie said losses on mortgage loans and a decline in the market value of its assets accounted for the shortfall in the fourth quarter.
Fannie's planned request, announced today, follows Freddie Mac, which said Jan. 23 that it will need as much as $35 billion more in federal aid. Unprecedented mortgage losses drove the net worth of both companies below zero last quarter, they said in separate securities filings.
This will be Washington-based Fannie's first draw on a $200 billion emergency fund set up by Treasury in September to keep the government-sponsored enterprises solvent. Fannie said losses on mortgage loans and a decline in the market value of its assets accounted for the shortfall in the fourth quarter.
