Michael Lewis pleads guilty to deceit
I note that Michael Lewis agrees with me about my assessment of his recent anthology of pieces about financial crises. He too thinks it was deceptively marketed by the publisher, and feels ashamed.
Here is what I wrote: Read more
Paying bonuses while Merrill Lynch burned
Reputations get shredded fast in a financial crisis, but the speed of John Thain’s descent from hero to zero is extraordinarily rapid.
In mid-October, he seemed like the smartest guy in the pack, delivering Merrill Lynch into the hands of Bank of America for $50bn during the weekend that Lehman collapsed and obtaining a premium for Merrill shareholders amid the chaos. Read more
| About this blog | Blog guide |
John Gapper is an associate editor and the chief business commentator of the FT.
He has worked for the FT since 1987, covering labour relations, banking and the media. He is co-author, with Nicholas Denton, of 'All That Glitters', an account of the collapse of Barings in 1995.
Andrew Hill is an associate editor and the management editor of the FT. He is a former City editor, financial editor, comment and analysis editor, New York bureau chief, foreign news editor and correspondent in Brussels and Milan.
Latest columns by John and Andrew