Showing results by author "William Cohan"

From the best-selling, prize-winning author of The Last Tycoons and House of Cards, a revelatory history of Goldman Sachs, the most dominant, feared, and controversial investment bank in the world. William D. Cohan has constructed a vivid narrative that looks behind the veil of secrecy to reveal how Goldman has become so profitable - and so powerful.

Discretion, secrecy, and subtle strategy were the weapons of choice at Wall Street investment bank Lazard Frères & Co. For more than a century, the mystique and reputation of the "Great Men" who worked there allowed the firm to garner unimaginable profits, social cachet, and outsized influence in the halls of power. But in the mid-1980s, their titanic egos started getting in the way, and the Great Men of Lazard jeopardized all they had built.

In March 2008, Bear Stearns, a swashbuckling 84-year-old financial institution, was forced to sell itself to JPMorgan Chase for an outrageously low price in a deal brokered by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who was desperately trying to prevent the impending catastrophic market crash. But mere months before, an industry-wide boom had "the Bear" clocking a record high stock price. How did a giant investment bank with $18 billion in cash on hand disappear in a mere 10 days?

William D. Cohan is no knee-jerk advocate for Wall Street and the big banks. He's one of America's most respected financial journalists and the progressive best-selling author of House of Cards. He has long been critical of the bad behavior that plagued much of Wall Street in the years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, and because he spent 17 years as an investment banker on Wall Street, he is an expert on its inner workings as well.

It’s rare to get a peek behind the corporate curtain and to catch a glimpse of the real-time deterioration of the relationship between an activist investor and the chief executive he had long supported. But thanks to a recently released report by the Senate Special Committee on Aging, we have been offered a front-row seat to witness how the billionaire hedge fund manager William A. Ackman turned on J. Michael Pearson, the chief executive of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, and replaced him with Joseph Papa in hopes that Valeant’s miserable fortunes could be turned around. It’s like watching a car crash.

"Documents Open Curtain on Boardroom Drama at Valeant" is from the December 29, 2016 Business section of The New York Times. It was written by William D. Cohan and narrated by Corey M. Snow.

A tsunami of change is coming to the regulations that govern corporate America, if President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress get their way.

"A Little-Known Accounting Change Could Have a Big Impact" is from the May 12, 2017 Business section of The New York Times. It was written by William D. Cohan and narrated by Keith Sellon-Wright.

"Brass Foundry Is Closing, but Debate Over Degas’ Work Goes On" is from the April 04, 2016 Arts section of The New York Times. It was written by William D. Cohan and narrated by Kristi Burns.

Discretion, secrecy, and subtle strategy were the weapons of choice at Wall Street investment bank Lazard Frères & Co. For more than a century, the mystique and reputation of the "Great Men" who worked there allowed the firm to garner unimaginable profits, social cachet, and outsized influence in the halls of power. But in the mid-1980s, their titanic egos started getting in the way, and the Great Men of Lazard jeopardized all they had built.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books began in 1996 with a simple goal: to bring together the people who create books with the people who love to read them. The festival was an immediate success and has become the largest and most prestigious book festival in the country, attracting more than 130,000 book lovers each year.

"Ackman Admits Mistake, but Chipotle Bet Could Be Another" is from the November 18, 2016 Business section of The New York Times. It was written by William D. Cohan and narrated by Fleet Cooper.