Wall Street at War

by Alexandra Ouroussoff
Wall Street at War
Author: Alexandra Ouroussoff
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 134
Release: 2013-05-08
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0745658695
GET BOOK

Many of the problems that lie at the heart of the current financial crisis stem from a significant but little-known development that occurred in the early 1980s: investors changed their investment criteria. This change gave rise to a conflict - a silent war - between executives in charge of the world's largest corporations, on the one hand, and credit agencies whose task it is to enforce the criteria on investors' behalf, on the other. The credit agencies that flourished in New York, London and elsewhere acquired a great deal of power because their ratings now reflected investors new priorities, and so controlled the ability of corporations to gain access to capital. The rise of the credit agencies thereby also represented a new model of capitalism, quite different from the old model of the risk-taking entrepreneur. To attract investment capital, corporations now have to employ enormous resources to create the illusion that capital is directed in line with the new expectations imposed by the credit agencies. The result is that devious reporting on companies' activities has become endemic. Drawing on more than six years of fieldwork carried out in some of the world's most powerful corporations and credit rating agencies on Wall Street, this short book describes, for the first time, the unspoken conflict that shapes the global economy. Anthropologist Alexandra Ouroussoff describes with startling clarity the effects of Wall Street's silent war: from the financial community's inability to price risk accurately (now recognised as a major cause of the financial crisis) to the deep reasons behind credit analysts' misplaced faith in numbers. Yet the book's most important contribution is its path-breaking analysis of the conditions of the conflict itself, here revealed as an unintended consequence of a much deeper transformation in the conditions underlying capitalism's success.

War At The Wall Street Journal

by Sarah Ellison
War At The Wall Street Journal
Author: Sarah Ellison
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2010-04-23
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0547488513
GET BOOK

A tale about big business, an imploding dynasty, a mogul at war, and a deal that epitomized an era of change While working at the Wall Street Journal, Sarah Ellison won praise for covering the $5 billion acquisition that transformed the pride of Dow Jones and the estimable but eccentric Bancroft family into the jewel of Rupert Murdoch’s kingdom. Here she expands that story, using her knowledge of the paper and its people to go deep inside the landmark transaction, as no outsider has or can, and also far beyond it, into the rocky transition when Murdoch’s crew tussled with old Journal hands and geared up for battle with the New York Times. With access to all the players, Ellison moves from newsrooms to estates and shows Murdoch, finally, for who he is—maneuvering, firing, undoing all that the Bancrofts had protected. Her superlative account transforms news of the deal into a timeless chronicle of American life and power.

Wall Street Wars

by Richard Farley
Wall Street Wars
Author: Richard Farley
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 423
Release: 2015-05-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1941393845
GET BOOK

In the depths of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration set out to radically remake America’s financial system—but Wall Street was determined to stop them. In 1933, the American economy was in shambles, battered by the 1929 stock market crash and limping from the effects of the Great Depression. But the incoming administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, elected on a wave of anxiety and hope, stormed Washington on a promise to save the American economy—and remake the entire American financial system. It was the opening salvo in a long war between Wall Street and Washington. Author Richard Farley takes a unique and detailed look at the pitched battles that followed—the fist fights, the circus-like stunts, the conmen and crooks, and the unlikely heroes—and shaped American capitalism. With a disparate cast of characters including Joseph P. Kennedy, J.P. Morgan, Huey Long, Babe Ruth, and Henry Ford (who refused to bail out his son’s bank, thus precipitating the meltdown of the entire banking system), Farley vividly traces the history of modern American finance and the establishment of a financial system still bitterly debated on Capitol Hill.

Wall Street's War on Workers

by Les Leopold
Wall Street's War on Workers
Author: Les Leopold
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2024-02-22
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1645022331
GET BOOK

"This book gave me a new lens to see the world.”—Robert Krulwich, former co-host of WNYC’s Radiolab Addressing the pressing issues affecting everyday Americans during an election year is essential—and one of our nation's most profound challenges is the devastating impact of mass layoffs. Layoffs upend people’s lives, cause enormous stress, and lead to debilitating personal debt. The societal harm caused by mass layoffs has been known for decades. Yet, we do little to stop them. Why? Why do we allow whole communities to be destroyed by corporate decision-makers? Why do we consider mass layoffs a natural, baked-in feature of modern financialized capitalism? And what are our elected officials going to do about it? In Wall Street’s War on Workers, Les Leopold, co-founder of the Labor Institute, provides a clear lens with which we can see how healthy corporations in the United States have used mass layoffs and stock buybacks to enrich shareholders at the expense of employees. With detailed research and concise language, Leopold explains why mass layoffs occur and how our current laws and regulations allow companies to turn these layoffs into short-term financial gains. Original and insightful, Wall Street’s War on Workers places US labor practices in the broader context of our social and political life, examining the impact financial strip-mining and legalized looting are having on party politics, destroying the integrity of democratic institutions. Leopold expertly lays out how the proliferation of opioids coupled with Wall Street’s destruction of jobs in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin have led to widespread mass layoff fatalism. Democrats have unarguably lost the longstanding support of millions of urban and rural workers, and Leopold points out how party leaders have been wrong about the assumption that the white working class is becoming less progressive and motivated to abandon the Democratic Party by reactionary positions on divisive social issues. With deep analyses, stark examples, and surprisingly simple proactive steps forward, Leopold also asserts that: Surviving and thriving in a competitive global economy does not require mass layoffs. A new virulent, financialized version of American capitalism is policy driven. To end mass layoffs, Wall Street’s domination of our economy must end. The accepted “wisdom” about white working-class populism is wrong. Ending stock buybacks and changing corporate officers’ pay structures could eliminate mass layoffs. Mass layoffs are not the result of inevitable economic “laws” or new technologies like artificial intelligence. Both groundbreaking and urgent, Wall Street’s War on Workers not only offers solutions that could halt mass layoffs but also offers new hope for workers everywhere. "Leopold offers a contrarian yet compelling take on America’s “white working class” . . . [and says] Democrats in 2024 ignore this massive, potentially sympathetic voting bloc at their peril."—Booklist (starred review) "Wall Street's War on Workers [is] the book neither party wants you to read . . . [It] penetrates one of the chief media deceptions of the 21st century, namely that working-class voters are driven by racism and xenophobia, and not by a more simple, enraging motive: they’ve been repeatedly ripped off, by the wealthy donors to both parties."—Matt Taibbi

Word$ on the $Treet

by Leo Haviland
Word$ on the $Treet
Author: Leo Haviland
Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing
Total Pages: 624
Release: 2011
Genre: Communication
ISBN: 1457505657
GET BOOK

"Words on the Street" is an experienced insider's analysis of Wall Street language. This informative and entertaining exploration of marketplace rhetoric focuses on metaphors derived from the fascinating arenas of games, love, war, politics, religion, the fine arts, and natural physical science. This expose reviews that wordplay in the context of the American Dream. Armies of books describe marketplace structure and instruments, recount economic history, or unveil personalities and strategies of heroic (or scandalous) individuals and institutions. "Words on the Street" is different. It enlightens Wall Street professionals, Main Street audiences, policy makers, and academics regarding Wall Street talk and its implications. Wall Street and American Dream rhetoric reflect and shape marketplace perspectives and thereby influence quests to make, keep, and manage money. Therefore Wall Street propaganda has major financial consequences for both Wall Street insiders and Main Street. "Words" may change marketplace viewpoints, including dogmas related to investment. This cultural investigation shows how investors and other players are persuaded to venture into and stay within stock, interest rate, currency, and commodity arenas. The opportunity to make money is a very incomplete explanation. The book is extensively documented from financial sources and via references to literature, film, and music. This study of Wall Street's language and rhetorical methods benefits Wall Street professionals, Main Street residents, businesses, politicians, and regulators seeking insight on how and why Wall Street sermons attract and convince them. Enticed by the oratory of Wall Street and its allies, many millions of Main Street dwellers around the globe have marched into and remained within Wall Street, often to "invest." The recent worldwide economic crisis underlines the importance of Wall Street marketplaces, even for those who have not carried their own money directly to Wall Street tables. "Words on the Street" demolishes the scientific ambitions and claims, not only of Wall Street, but also of economics and other social "sciences." "Words" investigates and discredits the counterfeit science (alleged objectivity) of the influential armies of would-be Newtons, Einsteins, Darwins, and Fords roaming throughout Wall Street and economics. Its analysis of Wall Street language in the context of the American Dream will fascinate American history scholars and students. Finally, "Words" provides an innovative yet persuasive explanation of cultural reasoning and how it differs from scientific rationality. Leo Haviland has three decades of experience in the Wall Street trading environment. Leo has worked for Goldman Sachs, Sempra Energy Trading, and other institutions. In his research and sales career in stock, interest rate, foreign exchange, and commodity battlefields, he has dealt with numerous and diverse financial institutions and individuals. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago (Phi Beta Kappa) and the Cornell Law School.

The End of Wall Street

by Roger Lowenstein
The End of Wall Street
Author: Roger Lowenstein
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2010-04-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1101197692
GET BOOK

Watch a Video Watch a video Download the cheat sheet for Roger Lowenstein's The End of Wall Street » The roots of the mortgage bubble and the story of the Wall Street collapse-and the government's unprecedented response-from our most trusted business journalist. The End of Wall Street is a blow-by-blow account of America's biggest financial collapse since the Great Depression. Drawing on 180 interviews, including sit-downs with top government officials and Wall Street CEOs, Lowenstein tells, with grace, wit, and razor-sharp understanding, the full story of the end of Wall Street as we knew it. Displaying the qualities that made When Genius Failed a timeless classic of Wall Street-his sixth sense for narrative drama and his unmatched ability to tell complicated financial stories in ways that resonate with the ordinary reader-Roger Lowenstein weaves a financial, economic, and sociological thriller that indicts America for succumbing to the siren song of easy debt and speculative mortgages. The End of Wall Street is rife with historical lessons and bursting with fast-paced action. Lowenstein introduces his story with precisely etched, laserlike profiles of Angelo Mozilo, the Johnny Appleseed of subprime mortgages who spreads toxic loans across the landscape like wild crabapples, and moves to a damning explication of how rating agencies helped gift wrap faulty loans in the guise of triple-A paper and a takedown of the academic formulas that-once again- proved the ruin of investors and banks. Lowenstein excels with a series of searing profiles of banking CEOs, such as the ferretlike Dick Fuld of Lehman and the bloodless Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan, and of government officials from the restless, deal-obsessed Hank Paulson and the overmatched Tim Geithner to the cerebral academic Ben Bernanke, who sought to avoid a repeat of the one crisis he spent a lifetime trying to understand-the Great Depression. Finally, we come to understand the majesty of Lowenstein's theme of liquidity and capital, which explains the origins of the crisis and that positions the collapse of 2008 as the greatest ever of Wall Street's unlearned lessons. The End of Wall Street will be essential reading as we work to identify the lessons of the market failure and start to reb...