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/ 15 October 2004
United States President George W Bush has long been lampooned by opponents as a puppet for the real brains in the White House. After his first presidential debate with John Kerry, internet bulletin boards have been hosting a growing clamour of rumours that they finally have the proof. A photograph, taken of the president from behind, appears to show a small bulge under his jacket, suggesting a hidden wire.
Billionaire investor George Soros is giving greater control of his business to his sons, Robert and Jonathan, and at the same time scaling back his empire by spinning off several divisions. For years Soros (74) has devoted an increasing amount of time to philanthropy and is engaged in a concerted effort to unseat United States President George W Bush.
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/ 14 September 2004
Sean Harrigan has made powerful enemies. As president of Calpers, the United States’s largest public pension fund, he is a thorn in the side of corporate America, taking on some of its best-known and biggest egos. Earlier this year Calpers led the call for the resignation of beleaguered Walt Disney boss Michael Eisner. It was also pivotal in ousting the former New York Stock Exchange chief over his eye-popping salary.
John Kerry, the Democratic nominee for president, published a list of about 200 entrepreneurs supporting his run for the White House, in an effort to reassure voters of his moderate credentials. The list, not unexpectedly, included endorsements from players in the entertainment and fashion industries. Among the signatories were Miramax boss Harvey Weinstein and designer Donna Karan.
For the anxious-looking women taking a cigarette break this week on the corner of 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue, there was only one topic of conversation. Unlike former terror threats, the warnings from the United States Department of Homeland Security last Sunday were remarkably specific and the Citigroup building we were in front of was one of five potential targets named in the financial sector.
Former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay has spoken out for the first time since the company’s collapse and placed the blame for the firm’s failure squarely on the shoulders of finance chief Andrew Fastow. In a lengthy interview with the New York Times, Lay protested his innocence and spoke of his vilification in the media and the dramatic slump in his personal finances.
America Online (AOL) on Thursday announced a -million deal to acquire online marketing firm Advertising.com, a resounding vote of confidence in the internet advertising market that many had until recently written off for good. The acquisition is the first significant one made by AOL since the ill-fated takeover of Time Warner in 2000.
Fresh concern has been raised that United States Vice-President Dick Cheney may have played a role in the decision to award his former company Halliburton a -billion contract for work in post-war Iraq. According to a congressional investigation, Cheney’s top aide, Lewis Libby, was involved in high-level talks in October 2002, which led to the firm securing the contract.
Frank Quattrone, one of the highest flying investment bankers on Wall Street during the dotcom boom, came crashing to earth on Monday when he was found guilty of obstruction of justice.
Howell Raines, the former editor of The New York Times, whose career was brought to an abrupt end by the actions of the plagiarist reporter Jayson Blair, gave one eviscerating interview shortly after he was deposed. Then there was silence. Raines’s devastating critique of The New York Times has thrown up disturbing questions about the future of the ‘world’s greatest newspaper’.