Bethany McLean
Bethany McLean
Bethany McLeanis a contributing editor to Vanity Fair magazine, and known for her work on the Enron scandal and the 2008 financial crisis. She had been an editor at large and columnist for Fortune and a contributor to Slate...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionEditor
Date of Birth12 December 1970
CountryUnited States of America
army two rivals
The last and most painful irony is that the two longtime rival armies in the securitization market - the investment banks and the GSEs - would end up magnifying each other's sins rather than keeping each other in check.
advantage gets
There is an advantage to size. It gets you noticed.
believe past average
... skepticism about past returns is crucial. The truth is, much as you may wish you could know which funds will be hot, you can't - and neither can the legions of advisers and publications that claim they can. That's why building a portfolio around index funds isn't really settling for average. It's just refusing to believe in magic.
home cash buying
Home ownership was the fig leaf for the rise in subprime lending. But that was really about cash-out refinancings, not buying homes.
cities chicago privatization
No city embraced privatization more eagerly than Chicago, where I live.
believe average magic
Building a portfolio around index funds isn’t really settling for the average. It’s just refusing to believe in magic.
thinking people claims
I think synergies are a lot like UFOs: Lots of people claim to have seen them, but few can actually prove they exist.
years accomplishment goal
So Merrill Lynch has launched its first campaign in years to advertise the accomplishments of its investment banking business. The ads feature things like Merrill's recapitalization of Sierra Pacific. I guess including "helping Enron achieve its earnings goals in 1999" might be a little awkward given that Merrill Lynch bankers are currently on trial in Houston for that "accomplishment."
acceptable change corporate executives jobs ok people precedent retirement savings trial
It doesn't really change anything. It's not like people will get their jobs back or their retirement savings back. But I do think the trial is important. It will set a precedent of what's acceptable corporate conduct. Is it OK for executives to do anything so long as it's technically legal?
jeff ken piece wrote
The worst story I ever wrote was after the conviction of Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay. My co-author and I wrote a piece for 'Fortune' saying everything's going to be different now.
argued capital fund needed
Proponents of privatization argued that cities and states needed private capital to fund all the upgrades that our decaying infrastructure so desperately needed.
almost believer fix fixed power provides regulation
I'm not a big believer in the power of more regulation to fix things. I think it can almost be more dangerous because it provides the illusion that things have been fixed without the substance.
bit curtain people practices pulled
Before Enron, I think people were a bit more naive about the way things worked, and I think Enron pulled the curtain back on unsavoury practices that turned out to be a lot more widespread.
good
What's good for the financial industry probably isn't good for you.