As a general rule, it’s a bad idea for a money manager to utter the words “insider trading” in any context. Hedge fund titan Bill Ackman is learning that lesson as the SEC begins an investigation of whether his hostile bid for Allergan violated the law. Indeed, Ackman’s public description of the deal now carefully […]
Argentina is raising its game in the PR battle with a group of investors over its disputed debt. The Ministry of Finance was quick to respond to an op-ed in the Financial Times by NML Capital, one of the hedge funds that has led a decade-long legal challenge to Argentina’s debt restructuring.
The war of words between Argentina and a group of hedge funds is getting more interesting. Today, it was the hedge funds’ turn to take a full-page newspaper ad to make its case, answering recent claims by Argentina – and demonstrating that the dispute is reaching a critical stage.
When you see a full-page ad in small print in the New York Times, it’s a sure sign of a communication strategy in disarray. Argentina offered the latest example yesterday, writing about its long-running dispute with investors over a debt restructuring. Argentina might have a good argument, but you won’t find it in its advertising.
A short video of London mayor Boris Johnson and BBC newsman Jeremy Paxman illustrates certain enduring truths about the British, or at least Johnson and Paxman.
When the New York Knicks were contending for an NBA title in the early 1990s (remember those days?), Pat Riley’s postgame news conferences were a marvel to behold. Win or lose, he always kept his cool when jousting with reporters and was unfailingly supportive of his players – even those who’d performed badly. And he […]
Why is speaking to employees during a crisis so difficult? When a company is mired in controversy, it needs every friend it can get. Employees are likely to be supportive in these situations, but companies seldom do much to engage them. Chief executives offer up a variety of objections. Here are the five most common […]
It’s been a rough few days for Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., the publisher of the New York Times. Firing Jill Abramson unleashed a torrent of ugly press coverage, and Mr. Sulzberger soon was cited as a case study in “poor management and worse communications.” So it might be a surprise to hear he actually did several […]
It wasn’t exactly a surprise to see the merger between Omncom and Publicics collapse. We had our doubts when the deal was announced last year. Still, there are some clear winners and losers. Here’s our list.
It’s been a bad week for the image minders in the private equity industry. First, Henry Kravis bemoaned the industry’s awful reputation, and now a tax-reform plan – floated by a Republican (gasp!) – threatens to axe its carried-interest tax goodie. Meanwhile, investors like Carl Icahn that once were reviled as “corporate raiders” have been […]