GM CEO Mary Barra’s record payday of nearly $30 million didn’t happen by accident. Here’s how the board Barra chairs made sure of it.
Business
Morgan Stanley: Too Big and Powerful to Regulate
My last conversation with my former client, the late Darryll Bolduc, happened nearly two decades ago, but I still remember it as if it were yesterday. Bolduc, a former Charlotte bond trader who became a whistleblower and ultimately a lawyer representing corporate conscientious objectors, was railing about how the big…
Lululemon and Ken Paxton’s Frontier Justice
Although it couldn’t happen to a more deserving company, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s disclosure that he’s investigating Lululemon for toxic “forever chemicals” smacks of performance politics.
Paxton’s press release briefly wiped out billions in Lululemon’s market value before any facts were established — violating the principle that even corporations are innocent until proven guilty.
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Third-Party Repair
Here’s why Deere’s $99 million class action settlement with farmers could become GM CEO Mary Barra’s next major problem after misjudging American demand for electric vehicles.
Kimmel and the Elite’s Contempt for Plumbers
America has an elitist hierarchy problem.
The people who build and repair things get mocked.
The people with the résumés are revered.
Jimmy Kimmel’s disrespect for plumbers exposed the disconnect.
Jim Farley’s $27.5M Participation Payday
Ford CEO Jim Farley’s $27.5 million payday is an insult to Ford employees, investors, and U.S. taxpayers.
Oxford Philosophy Majors Shall Inherit the Earth
Here’s why the smartest people in the room right now aren’t the MBAs, quants, or AI evangelists—but two Oxford-trained philosophy majors who appreciated the risks in private credit before anyone else.
One is Eugene Ludwig, the former Comptroller of the Currency under President Clinton. The other is Stephen Diggle, a money manager whose firm made billions betting on the 2007–08 financial crisis.
More than a year ago, Ludwig warned private credit was a “ticking time bomb.” Diggle is now positioned to profit from the implosion of private credit and private equity.
Meanwhile, Wall Street Journal reporter Jonathan Weil—the first to question Enron’s accounting—is raising uncomfortable questions about private credit and private equity valuations.
This story isn’t getting nearly enough attention.
Zero Emissions? GM’s Dismal Climate Scorecard
President Biden five years ago hailed GM CEO Mary Barra for leading the world’s EV transformation.
Today, Biden’s climate savior presides over one of the most gas-thirsty vehicle lineups in America. After President Trump’s reelection, GM was also the only major global automaker that couldn’t be bothered to publish a sustainability report.
Morgan Stanley’s Hotel California Credit Fund
A primer for Morgan Stanley clients invested in the firm’s North Haven Private Income Fund — where “semi-liquid” can quickly become “virtually dry.”
Corporate BS and the Science of Sucking Up
A peer-reviewed study by a Cornell cognitive psychologist suggests employees who embrace corporate buzzwords don’t make the best employees but might be destined for the corner office.