Even if you’re not an ardent baseball fan, you have to be impressed with Mariano Rivera, the incomparable relief pitcher for the New York Yankees, who two days ago set the record for most saves, at 602. Sports writers long ago ran out of superlatives for describing Rivera’s talent and durability, and the crucial role […]
Today’s press coverage of the continuing drama at UBS suggests the saga is playing out in predictable fashion, as rivals seek to poach UBS deal-makers, whose bonuses are likely to shrivel following the bank’s losses. And speculation is mounting that CEO Oswald Gruebel will have to step aside. The situation has been made worse by […]
In light of the startling $2 billion trading loss that UBS reported this week, my Friday Risk Reading selection is a speech from 1996 by New York Fed President William J. McDonough. As president of the New York Fed from 1993 to 2003, when he was succeeded by Tim Geithner, McDononugh spoke often about bank […]
UBS has remained oddly silent since its brief press release announcing a $2 billion loss from unauthorized trades in London. The announcement chopped some $5 billion from the bank’s market cap, and neither CEO Oswald Grübel nor any other senior executive has addressed the matter. It’s instructive to compare UBS’s public response to that of […]
Today’s stunning announcement by UBS that a rogue trader lost $2 billion presents big communications challenges for the Swiss bank. It will need to be forthcoming with regulators about the reasons for the loss and the breakdown in the bank’s internal controls. It must reassure private clients that their assets are safe, keep valued employees […]
It seems to me that the words of our political leaders have always fallen short against the tragedy of the September 11 terrorist attack. In the days immediately afterwards, elected leaders offered words of comfort and calls to unity, but they seemed dwarfed by the enormity of the horror, and none are remembered today. It […]
In keeping with the debut of the “Cooking Chronicles” on this blog, I have selected Heat, by Bill Buford, as this Friday’s recommended risk reading. Heat is a lively, insightful account of Buford’s experience as an amateur cook in the kitchen of renowned chef Mario Batali. Buford abandons the security of his desk job to […]
In a recent post on Yahoo’s firing of Carol Bartz, I noted that the manner in which the Yahoo board handled it could make it easy for Bartz to offer her point of view in the media. So it comes as little surprise that Fortune today posted a lively interview with Bartz, explitives included. It […]
Like many people, I have been thinking about the events of September 11, 2001, as the tenth anniversary approaches. This article from the New York Times earlier this week focused on the media’s efforts to cover the anniversary with sensitivity, and it called to mind some remarks I gave about the media’s conduct in the […]
There’s really only one sure-fire way to use up the tomatoes that are coming out of the garden right now in epic numbers, and that is to turn the little beasties into sauce. This is easier than it might appear. The secret is having the right equipment; in this case, a food mill. This wonder […]