Comment, analysis and other offerings from Monday’s FT,
Clive Crook: How Obama can reset his presidency
The Obama presidency is not dead yet, says the FT’s Crook. The midterm elections are 10 months away, and a lot can happen. If the economy revives, voters will come round. Barack Obama can still recover – but he must show he understands what has gone wrong. Early signs are that he does not
Book review: “The Marketplace of Ideas”
Louis Menand’s new book is what FT columnist Christopher Caldwell describes as an unflinching account of the intractable problems faced by America’s universities, where monopolies produce smugness and sameness just as they do anywhere else. But it is also a business book, notes Caldwell.
Lina Saigol: Listed equity is the new leverage
Listed equity is the new leverage, writes the FT’s Saigol. At least, that’s the buzz around entrepreneurs such as the UK’s Hugh Osmond, who are looking to bypass banks and fund their acquisitions without high levels of debt.
Tony Jackson: A debt-equity conundrum for dealmakers
The Kraft-Cadbury deal, ever-hopeful investment bankers assure us, kicks off a new global wave of M&A. Maybe, says the FT’s Tony Jackson. But it also highlights a central issue in the M&A game these days – what we might term the debt-equity conundrum.
Lex on private equity
Private equity is not the target of Barack Obama’s proposals to restructure Wall Street. But for an industry that only tangentially gained from the bail-out, the effects could reach far, warns Lex.
Business education: MBA basics
Thinking of doing an MBA? To complement the FT’s authoritative annual ranking of global MBAs, here are four must-read articles covering vital preparatory steps.
View from the Top, FT video: Mark Carney, Bank of Canada
Carney, governor of the Bank of Canada, discusses the direction of financial reform in the US and other countries moves to diversify their forex holdings.
Lucy Kellaway: Clooney won’t do for business
Handsome men don’t belong in corporate life, writes the FT’s Kellaway. Consider Up in the Air, in which George Clooney plays a jet-setting consultant who flies around the US firing people. For a Hollywood film, it is remarkably convincing. The problem is that Clooney is simply too good-looking to be credible.