Goldman Sachs, the 'great vampire squid'
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MT Editor
Matthew Gwyther
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Goldman Sachs, the 'great vampire squid'
2 July 2009
Goldman Sachs, the 'great vampire squid'
Matthew Gwyther
MT editor
Rolling Stone's attack on Goldman Sachs has ruffled some feathers at the world's top investment bank.
PREVIOUS BLOGS
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26 June 2009
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25 June 2009
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22 June 2009
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16 June 2009
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11 June 2009
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27 May 2009
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22 May 2009
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15 May 2009
Twitter? Twaddle, Part Two
Kanye West and I are clearly on the same wavelength when it comes to Twitter.
11 May 2009
MPs' expenses are a dangerous distraction
This ridiculous hoo-hah about MPs' expenses is not in any of our interests.
07 May 2009
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Global product marketing is no recipe for great adverts, on the evidence of last night...
05 May 2009
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24 April 2009
Can the new connectedness save us?
MT's latest seminar debated whether companies can beat the downturn by reaching outside their fortress.
22 April 2009
Hello, Darling, want a new motor?
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1 April 2009
Twitter? Twaddle...
The reservations I've held about Twitter have been reinforced by some of the online reporting of the G20 protests.
25th March 2009
This Fred Goodwin rage has gone too far
So a gang of the righteous has been round to Fred Goodwin's pad at 4am and smashed the windows. Well, that's going to make us all feel a lot better.
19th March 2009:
Has enterprise lost its bottle?
I've forgotten why but I'm giving up booze for the duration of March. (A sort of Atheist's Lent.)
6th March 2009:
Goodwin witch-hunt getting out of hand
The Government should focus on solving our problems, not stirring up hysteria about Sir Fred's pension.
2nd March 2009:
The great British booze problem
I'm giving up booze for Lent, but the Scots are seeking a slightly more permanent solution...
24th Feb 2009:
Trimble's University Challenge to UK economy
As Gail Trimble has discovered, being clever on TV isn't very cool these days.
20th Feb 2009:
Sadness as Saab reaches the end of the road
Not many of us have to wait until we're 40 to get our first new car. For reasons of late development, I did...
17th Feb 2009
Pontificating in Portmeirion
The media has had a good kicking here in Portmeirion - but ad men are hardly in a position to criticise...
9th Feb 2009:
Putting the world to rights in Portmeirion
Some strange explanations for our current woes here at the 'We Are Names Not Numbers' conference...
29th Jan 2009:
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Sky's results suggest it is finally getting the message about the potential of its brilliant HD TV...
23rd Jan 2009:
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I never thought I'd see the day when the words of Paris Hilton were the only way to lift the gloom...
20th Jan 2009:
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The decline of Britain's car industry is hardly a surprise, given the calibre of some of its products...
5th Jan 2009:
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Detox products are big this time of year - despite most of them being unsubstantiated, unscientific guff...
9th Dec 2008:
Big trouble for Big Motor
The US government is bailing out the big three carmakers - but why should we do the same?
4th Dec 2008:
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With this latest cut, many of us have got more money in our pockets - yet we're still not spending.
20th Nov 2008:
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Innocent has always done things a litttle differently - and it will serve them well in the downturn...
13th Nov 2008:
No cause for schadenfreude
The German economy is in recession - but we've got nothing to be smug about.
11th Nov 2008:
The City's Oedipus complex
There are some interesting parallels between Sophocles' plague-afflicted Thebes and our modern-day woes...
27th October 2008:
Bad timing for Westfield
This isn't exactly an ideal time to be opening Europe's largest urban shopping centre...
23rd October 2008:
Indian delivery problems
Can India deliver a probe to the Moon if it can't deliver magazines to Mumbai?
17th October 2008:
Bambino crisis in Italy
Italians just aren't reproducing. This week I've been explaining why to the BBC.
13th October 2008:
Green shoots of recovery for Baugur
Sir Philip Green's sensible recent strategy has left him in a strong position to pick up some bargains...
9th October 2008:
Feeling Robbie's £1bn pain
If you think you had a bad day yesterday, spare a thought for Robert Tchenguiz.
8th October 2008:
What does the crunch mean for you?
Three quick thoughts on how recession works, based on my personal experience over the last three days.
7th October 2008:
Iceland fears perma-frost as Landsbanki falls
Iceland is on the verge of economic collapse - and even two years ago, it wasn't hard to see it coming...
The days of investment banks refusing to communicate with the outside world are surely over.
1st October 2008:
What moral hazard?
The City's Masters of the Universe apparently expect life to carry on regardless - but I'm not so sure.
18th Sept 2008:
Peston's New World Order
The BBC's Robert Peston has been a busy boy.
17th September 2008
Tin hat time
Well, this is turning to be one helluva week. And it's only Wednesday. Where's it all going to end?
16th September 2008:
Fear the wounded bear
Who's this talking? 'What did you expect us to do? Respond with a catapult? No, we punched them in the face!'
9th September 2008
Microsoft's charm offensive
The new Microsoft ad campaign shows that the Seattle-based giant wants to be loved, not just admired...
26th August 2008:
Safety concerns add to airlines' woes
Yesterday's Ryanair scare caps a truly awful week for the airline industry...
20th August 2008:
I Don't Know How I Do It, Part Four
In my final Silly Season blog: the end is in sight after my week of paternal plate-spinning...
19th August 2008:
I Don't Know How I Do It, Part Three
In my latest instalment from the solo childcare front: why The Kid eats better than I do.
18th August 2008:
I Don't Know How I Do It, Part Two
Silly Season latest: my week of solo childcare escalates with a high-risk boys' trip to Devon...
15th August 2008:
I Don't Know How I Do It
A Silly Season Special: a week of living dangerously in sole charge of my 11-month old kid...
13th August 2008:
The price isn't right
Two distress purchases, both at a similar price - but two very different customer experiences...
11th August 2008:
The tyranny of technology
When it comes to technology, change isn't always a good thing...
7th July 2008:
Graceful collapse of a colossus
Yesterday's Wimbledon final was a reminder of how sport ought to be played - and a lesson for business too.
1st July 2008:
eBay caught in phoney war
I'm a big fan of eBay - but it can't keep sticking its head in the sand over counterfeit goods.
23rd June 2008:
The dangers of aid
In my third Sri Lankan instalment: why aid agencies are dividing opinion on the East of the island...
20th June 2008:
A Tiger by the tail
In my second instalment from Sri Lanka: a meeting with a former terrorist who's now running Eastern province...
19th June 2008:
In search of Sir Stuart's green underpants
This week I'm in Sri Lanka, on the front line of Marks & Spencer's eco-revolution...
4th June 2008:
What's the point of HR?
A question: How many HR people does it take to change a lightbulb?
16th May 2008:
Ouch! Fighting inflation hurts
Giving independence to the BoE established Gordon Brown's economic credentials - but is it time to change its remit?
12th May 2008:
Toss away your trolley
The Ocado boys are banking on us getting sick of braving the supermarket for our weekly grocery shop.
29th April 2008:
Don't look down
It's much harder to lead in adversity - but too much anxiety can lead to mistakes and missed opportunities...
11th April 2008:
BBC gets an unfair kicking
This time it's the internet service providers having a go at Auntie.
25th March 2008:
A trip down musical memory lane
The Eagles' O2 gig gave a sad old fart a chance to reflect on the changing face of the music industry...
14th March 2008:
Poles, don't go home
Stop bashing the Poles, says one of their biggest fans.
12th March 2008:
Big Motor in the slow lane
Darling's new tax on high-polluting cars is bad news for the motor industry.
6th March 2008:
Welcome to transport hell
Down here in the capital, getting around means a trip to Hades.
24 Jan 2008:
The dark arts of banking
Public perception of the banking sector was bad enough already. This SocGen bombshell will destroy its reputation even further.
12 Dec 2007:
Saint Bob goes nuclear - again
Sir Bob Geldof might be a sanctimonious mega-gob, but he's right to speak out in support of nuclear power. It's about time we did the same.
23 November 2007:
Black holes, lost discs and sick parrots
Never mind Black Wednesday - it has been Feel-bad Week. Roll on the weekend and a few smiles.
9 November 2007:
No compensation for failed fat cats
I'm happy to defend the so-called "excessive" remuneration for fat cats - but why should the people who have brought our financial system to its knees be rewarded for their failure?
1 November 2007:
Lies, damned lies and statistics
The cock-up over the government's migration figures doesn't surprise me in the least. It shows what we've all long suspected: that for all their research they haven't got the foggiest what's going on.
29 October 2007
The Wolf is right on CGT
The FT's Martin Wolf is a dry old stick. Bone dry. Like Outback dust after a 20-year drought. And he's often maddeningly right.
12 October 2007
Missing duty free
It's funny how one doesn't miss things when they are gone. Take strange duty free booze, for example.
27 September 2007
The new Witchcraft
The City knows there's trouble coming down the line when an old Tory like Max Hastings starts having a pop.
13 September 2007
The baby factory
Apologies for the temporary radio silence - I've been having a baby (born last Thursday; 10 pounds; kid and mum fine, thanks.) But it has given me a rare opportunity to take a close look at the workings of the NHS.
READ MORE AND COMMENT
30 August 2007
£10k handbags at 20 paces
I've just emerged from a BBC radio studio - like Daniel from the lion's den - from a gloves-off encounter with the fearsome Polly Toynbee. We were discussing the touchy subject of wealth inequality in the UK - the widening gap between the rich and the poor and whether this threatens to damage our social fabric. As a business journalist of modest income I was there to lead with my right for the Haves.
23 August 2007
The kids are awright
All morning from our eyrie here in Hammersmith we've been watching kids trickling into the school opposite to get their GCSE results. Can we really begrudge them their celebrations?
16 August 2007
Friendless financiers
It may be good that we're heading back towards an era of sound money - but there's going to be a lot of fear, loathing and pain first.
1 August 2007
Say sorry, Richard
There may be a few who feel a modicum of sympathy for British Airways this morning - the organisation has been completely humiliated and a £270 million fine is going to make a hole in the deepest of pockets. But Virgin's behaviour leaves an equally nasty taste in the mouth.
3rd October 2008:
Shining a light on banking's dark arts
23rd Jan 2009:
The Paris Hilton stimulus plan
