bethany mclean coronavirus bethany mclean coronavirus

More than 100,000 people already have died in this country from the virus. More than 100,000 people already have died in this country from the virus. This week, Kate and Daniel talk to Bethany McLean, author most recently of Saudi America: The Truth about Fracking and How It's Changing the World as well as the bestselling The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron, with Peter Elkind. She is known for her writing on the Enron scandal and the 2008 financial crisis. But among those angling for a federal handout is one of the wealthiest sectors of the American economy: private equity. Recent and archived work by Bethany McLean for The New York Times. The half decade from 2013 to 2018 saw the most private-equity deals over any five-year period in American history. [citation needed], She authored an article on Enron for the March 5, 2001, issue of Fortune entitled, "Is Enron Overpriced? Stopping that will require a creative effort to increase and sustain high levels of vaccination. . But there are ways to make it work better. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. This location, as with the other County contracted medical sheltering sites, will accept individuals from the local community that are referred through DPH. According to the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), a lobbying group which represents CalPERs and other public investors, businesses backed by private equity employ more than 8.8 million Americans at over 35,000 companies, accounting for a staggering 5% of the United States GDP. (Adila Mchich, CME Group), Fractivism: Corporate Bodies and Chemical Bonds (Sarah Ann Wylie), The Fracktivists (Colin Kinniburgh, Dissent), Kate: A Moderate Proposal: Nationalize The Fossil Fuel Industry (The New Republic), This week, Kate and Daniel talk to Bethany McLean, author most recently of, Saudi America: The Truth about Fracking and How Its Changing the World, The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron, If you like the episode and want to hear more, sign up as a monthly member at. Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more. This week, Kate and Daniel talk to Bethany McLean, author most recently of Saudi America: The Truth about Fracking and How Its Changing the World as well as the bestselling The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron, with Peter Elkind. The book, which she wrote from the couple's home, puts a human face to the crisis. The total number of . Even before the COVID crisis, there were questions about how well private-equity investments were actually performing. "Dow 36,000" co-authors stand by book's premise. 500 energy sector fell 20 percent, marking the sectors largest drop on record. After nearly bringing down the economy in 2008, how is it possible that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are still around? Private equity, of course, came of age in the 1980s, when greed was good and private-equity titans like KKRs Henry Kravis first burst into the limelight by taking over famed American manufacturers like RJR Nabisco. in English and mathematics from Williams College. Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How Its Changing the World., stocks that make up the S.&P. On March 10, Scott Sheffield, the chief executive of Pioneer Natural Resources, a major driller in the Permian Basin, told Bloomberg that U.S. oil output could fall by more than two million barrels per day by next year if prices remain where they are today. . To revisit this article, visit My Profile, thenView saved stories. Now, it has been shut off. The basic reason is that the amount of oil coming out of a fracked well declines steeply after the first year more than 50 percent in year two. In a January 4 opinion piece for the New York Times, Bethany McLean had this to say about the outcome of the Elizabeth Holmes trial: "A jury's verdict is black-and-white, but the real story is . Portfolio, a Penguin Random House imprint, announced Wednesday that the two had reached an agreement for a news-breaking, character-driven narrative revealing the forces that rendered critical American institutions ill-equipped to cope with the deadliest pandemic since the 1918 Spanish flu and the economic consequences of that failure.The title and release date have not yet been determined. All thats left to tally is the damage. She was previously married to Christopher Roberts Wilford. Thats because oil fracking has never been financially viable. The industry also quietly helps itself to yet more money by having portfolio companies pay fees for consulting and financing services provided by, of course, their private-equity backers. NEW YORK Business writers Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera are collaborating on a critical take of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic. Previous to her current roles, McLean was an editor-at-large at Fortune Magazine. Its thanks to those who are able to contribute that were able to make the podcast free for anyone to listen to. Then came Covid-19, and, on March 8, the sudden and vicious end to the truce between Saudi Arabia and Russia, under which both countries limited production to prop up prices. NEW YORK (AP) Business writers Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera are collaborating on a critical take of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic. Driven partly by public pensions, the private-equity industry has mushroomed. If private equity suffers, the blow will reverberate throughout the entire economy. Bethany McLean was born on 12 December 1970 in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA. today. We could go even further. A hydraulic fracturing site in Denton, Texas. Private equity has made multibillionaires of executives like Blackstones Steve Schwarzman (net worth: $17.5 billion) and Apollos Leon Black ($7.5 billion). Here are some tips. He and McLean previously worked together on All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis, about the 2008 market crash. Thanks to all the cheap money made available by the Fed, companies owned by private-equity firms could simply refinance their debts at lower rates, thereby getting a fresh lease on life. Given how much of the economy will rise and fall on the investments that private-equity funds manage, we may be forced to let them share the federal handout. On Thursday's show: The job forecast for the region in 2022, lessons from the collapse of Enron, a conversation with the late Stephen Sondheim, and the best new restaurants from the past year. [7][8] The Washington Post selected it as one of the best nonfiction books of 2015. And why not? Almost everything thats happened since 2008 has tilted in their favor. MCHD offers free COVID-19 (PCR) testing every Tuesday and Wednesday from 9am-12pm inside the McLean County Health Department building, 200 W. Front Street in downtown Bloomington, Room 400E. Bethany McLean. The allies of private equity hope that similar exemptions will soon be forthcoming for their firms.We are in a wait-and-see mode, Chris Hayes, the ILPAs senior policy counsel, told me. Looking for more? 1 FOR PHARMACISTS PRESCRIBING PAXLOVID: This service is available in all locations, with the exception of those in New Hampshire. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Bethany Lee McLean (born December 12, 1970) is an American journalist and contributing editor for Vanity Fair magazine. TDD: (800) 526-0844 [10][11] Are Crude Oil & Natural Gas Prices Linked? Pension funds that have poured money into private equity firms may take a hit soon, too. COVID-19 Guidance for isolation and quarantine, COVID-19 Education and Outreach Materials Page. Whats more, the Milken Institute reported, even by mid-2018, private equity owned more companies than the number of businesses listed on all of the U.S. stock exchanges combined, and have accounted for a more significant source of financing than initial public offerings in many recent years. Free COVID-19 testing is available at the McLean County Health Department from 9 a.m. to noon every Tuesday and Wednesday in Room 400E of the MCHD building at 200 W. Front St. in Bloomington. Nocera and McLean writing book on U.S. coronavirus response By The Associated Press June 24, 2020 NEW YORK (AP) Business writers Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera are collaborating on a critical take of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic. You can see how all of this is playing out by looking at Occidental Petroleum. Months into the outbreak, no one really knows how well many of the screening tests work, and experts at top medical centers say it is time to do the studies to find out. Has its bubble finally burst? The man who shot his girlfriend and five relatives at a birthday celebration had "control issues". By early 2019, America was the worlds largest producer of crude oil, surpassing both Saudi Arabia and Russia. Fractivism: Corporate Bodies and Chemical Bonds, A Moderate Proposal: Nationalize The Fossil Fuel Industry, https://media.blubrry.com/belabored/dissentmagazine.org/mp3/24HotBothered.mp3. All rights reserved. Never mind that they often overpaid for the companies they acquired, and loaded them up with so much debt that even a mild economic downturn could make it nearly impossible for those companies to repay their loans, as Fortune put it. The value of West Texas Intermediate crude, a U.S. benchmark, dipped below zero for a few hourstrading as low as negative $40 a barrel. Occidental is just one piece of the puzzle. The fear, of course, is that private equity will do what private equity does best, which is pocket the money themselves rather than devoting it to the businesses theyve invested in. In 2019, Mclean launched a podcast titled Making a Killing on Luminary. The promised profits havent materialized. McLean was born in Hibbing, Minnesota on December 12, 1970. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. All that's left to tally is the damage. The industrys total assets under management have hit a record $4.1 trillion. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. Coronavirus May Kill Our Fracking Fever Dream, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-texas-fracking-layoffs.html. Even before the coronavirus crisis, the spigot was drying up. We could also limit the deductibility of interest payments for tax purposes even more than President Donald Trumps new tax law already did, so companies arent encouraged to load up on debt. Portfolio, a Penguin Random House imprint, announced Wednesday that the two had reached an agreement for a news-breaking, character-driven narrative revealing the forces that rendered critical American institutions ill-equipped to cope with the deadliest pandemic since the 1918 Spanish flu and the economic consequences of that failure.. 500 energy sector fell, questions weve gathered from readers recently, adequate research and support for sufferers, according to the law firm Haynes and Boone. By Patrick Semansky/AP Photo (Mnuchin); By Mark Wilson (Pelosi), Jason Alden (Shwarzman), Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg (Black), by Johannes EISELE/AFP (stocks), by Christina Horsten (tents), by John Nacion (ambulance); All from Getty Images. Bill White wants to restore Americas historical proclivity for balanced budgets. NEW YORK Business writers Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera are collaborating on a critical take of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 Origins: Investigating a "Complex and Grave Situation" Inside a Wuhan Lab. Energy independence was a fever dream, fed by cheap debt and frothy capital markets. On the surface, it appears that two unforeseeable and random shocks are threatening our dream. There are several pots of federal money that the private-equity industry is lobbying to access. On March 9, the price of oil plunged by almost a third, its steepest one-day drop in almost 30 years. (And not all private-equity firms care equally about all of the programs.) A journalist profiles the developers and devotees who have aided the rise of cybercurrency. [16] McLean resides in Chicago with her children. All rights reserved. [1] It details how the financial crisis bubbled up from a volatile, and bipartisan, mixture of government meddling and laissez-faire. She resides in Chicago with her children. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines. So why should they be permitted to raid the federal Treasury in a time of crisis? Jack Ewings Faster, Higher, Farther is more than the story of a scandal. Bethany McLean is a journalist and contributing editor for Vanity Fair. Otherwise, the ILPA warned in a previous letter, there would be significant harm not only to employees that see their hours reduced or jobs eliminated, but also significantly reduced returns to the institutions providing retirement security through pensions, insurance policies and other investments that serve hundreds of thousands of Americans. To make matters worse, ILPA added, provisions in many private-equity investments allow private-equity firms to make additional capital calls when times are tough. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. After Enron's rapid collapse later in 2001, McLean co-authored the book The Smartest Guys in the Room (2003) which detailed the corrupt business practices of Enron officials. The Next Financial Crisis Lurks Underground, Coronavirus May Kill Our Fracking Fever Dream. The man who shot his girlfriend and five relatives at a birthday celebration had "control issues". The industrys $1.5 trillion in cash on hand is also the highest on recordand more than double what it was five years ago, according to Preqin. But it doesnt have to be a blank check. It is absolutely imperative, Waters recently wrote in support of private equity, that the reliefbe extended to protect all workers, irrespective of the affiliations of their employers. Translation: Workers shouldnt suffer just because their bosses sold a controlling stake in their businesses to a bunch of greedy fat cats. But with super-low interest rates, investors in search of yield were still willing to buy debt. He and McLean previously worked together on All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis, about the 2008 market crash. No food or drink for one hour prior to testing. Anyone can read what you share. Bethany College will continue to adapt and collaborate as needed to encourage vaccines and boosters for staff and students. Thats a difficult question to answer definitely, writes the Opinion columnist Zeynep Tufekci, because of the lack of adequate research and support for sufferers, as well as confusion about what the condition even is. Sign up for our daily Hive newsletter and never miss a story. The politics dictating whether the private-equity industry will get its wishes are surprising. Is there any chance this could lead to prison time? Thanks to the $2 trillion bipartisan bailout bill, the industrys coronavirus losses will belong to all of us. Which explains why ILPA wrote to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell last week, arguing that companies backed by private equity should be allowed to access the relief funds provided in the CARES Act. He and McLean previously worked together on All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis, about the 2008 market crash. James Glassman says his seven-year-old prediction that the Dow Jones industrial average will rise to 36,000 wasn't wrong, just early. [4], In 2005, McLean got into a spat with then-CEO of Overstock.com Patrick M. Byrne after she wrote a negative article about Overstock and him.[5][6]. Bethany McLean. In the Season One finale of Making A Killing, Bethany brings back her friend, colleague and co-author Joe Nocera (Bloomberg Opinion columnist and creator of The Shrink Next Door podcast) to bookend the season with a lively analysis of the former head of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault S.A., Carlos Ghosn. 2023 Cond Nast. More than 100,000 people already have died in this country from the virus. A loophole in the tax code currently allows private-equity financiers to pay taxes on their returns at the lower rate for capital gains, rather than the higher rate for personal income. As for Pelosi, she doesnt want to see companies backed by venture capital excluded from federal relief, given her Silicon Valley constituents. All rights reserved). Portfolio, a Penguin Random House imprint . Was Tiffany involved? The immunobiologist Akiko Iwasakiwrites that new vaccines, particular those delivered through the nose, may be part of the answer. Some of it may be on bank balance sheets. Copyright 2023 WSLS.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. The Wuhan Institute of Virology, the cutting-edge . Fracking, they said, was just manufacturing, in which process and human intelligence could reduce costs and conquer geology. She co-authored a book on the 2008 financial crisis titled All the Devils Are Here. In 2019, the American Investment Council (AIC), a lobbying group which represents private-equity giants like Blackstone, the Carlyle Group, Apollo Global Management, and KKR, declared that in order to continue to provide the benefits they guarantee, pensions must continue to invest in private equity.. How exactly did the alleged illegal activity go down? NEW YORK Business writers Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera are collaborating on a critical take of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic. Get COVID-19 vaccine updates from the CDC. If you need help with the Public File, call 540-512-1558. Writer: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Tar Heel, North Carolina, United States. NEW YORK (AP) Business writers Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera are collaborating on a critical take of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic. Since that time, Oxys stock has plummeted almost 80 percent in part due to fears that the Anadarko acquisition is going to prove so wildly unprofitable that it sinks the company. The typical fee structure in private equity is the so-called 2 and 20, which means that a fund collects a fee of 2% of the total assets it manages, as well as 20% of any gains on its investments after a certain return is achieved. Daily updates from Washington, Wall Street, and Silicon Valley. Restaurants and hotels owned by big chains have already received exemptions granting them access to the relief funds, regardless of how many people their parent companies employ. Clients who show symptoms of COVID-19 (for example have a fever, cough, or difficulty breathing) and/or are waiting for their test results. Think of private-equity firms as the banks of the corona crisis: They are, for better or worse, too big to fail. Paying members will get access to perks like a. by Kate Aronoff, Alyssa Battistoni, Daniel Aldana Cohen, and Thea Riofrancos, and much more. One is the so-called Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), set up to make $349 billion in government-guaranteed loans available to businesses with fewer than 500 employees. Seventy-one members of the Bethany Slavic Missionary Church near Rancho Cordova or people associated with congregation members have been afflicted with the virus, county officials say, making. Even as the public equity and debt markets grew cautious, drilling continued. In each of the past four years, according to data-provider Preqin, private-capital managers raised over $500 billion of new money to invest. The Wuhan Institute of Virology, the cutting-edge . sure to go down in history as one of the wildest business stories ever. In April, the Energy Information Administration cut its forecast for U.S. oil production, estimating that it will fall both this year and next suggesting that the days of huge growth in production from shale are over. The community level of Covid-19 in McLean County is low based on cases and hospitalizations, according to the most recent update from the C.D.C. We asked three experts two immunologists and an epidemiologist to weigh in on this and some of the hundreds of other, Thats a difficult question to answer definitely, writes the Opinion columnist Zeynep Tufekci, because of the lack of. The big banks emerged from the financial crisis victorious, but also subject to a host of new regulations designed to reduce leverage and stabilize the economy. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. How will the virus continue to change? All thats left to tally is the environmental and financial damage. Americas energy independence was built on an industry that is the very definition of dependent dependent on investors to keeping pouring billions upon billions in capital into money-losing companies to fund their drilling. Paying members will get access to perks like a monthly happy hour with Kate, Daniel, and friends, a free ebook of A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal by Kate Aronoff, Alyssa Battistoni, Daniel Aldana Cohen, and Thea Riofrancos, and much more. On March 10, the company announced that it would slash its dividend for the first time since the early 1990s, when Saddam Husseins invasion of Kuwait sent oil prices plummeting. [17], Last edited on 21 November 2022, at 20:31, "Hibbing grad warns of economic crisis below ground", "What Working At Goldman Sachs Taught Legendary Business Journalist Bethany McLean", "Meet Patrick Byrne: Bitcoin Messiah, CEO of Overstock, Scourge of Wall Street", "BYRNE'S HOT MAIL; OVERSTOCK CHIEF'S TEMPER ERUPTS IN MESSAGES", Financial System's Top Risk, Hiding in Plain Sight, "U.S. mortgage giants under the microscope", "Loughlin, Giannulli lawyer is prosecutors' 'worst nightmare', "Q & A with Bethany McLean, Author of 'All the Devils Are Here', "Enron tale author Bethany McLean has a new book she wrote from her Chicago home", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bethany_McLean&oldid=1123096713, This page was last edited on 21 November 2022, at 20:31. In this episode, McLeanwho has tracked the industrys shaky footing for yearstraces the ups and downs of the industry from the 1970s to 2008 to today, and assesses whether a new recession will speed the transition away from fossil fuelsor hand oil barons a life raft. Ms. McLean is the author of Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How Its Changing the World., Ever since the oil shocks of the 1970s, the idea of energy independence, which in its grandest incarnation meant freedom from the worlds oil-rich trouble spots, has been a dream for Democrats and Republicans alike. If private equity is handed billions in taxpayer money, it could use some of it to pay themselves hefty fees today, then pocket even more of it down the road, when they sell their portfolio companies and collect their 20% of the taxpayer-enabled gains. How concerning are things like long covid and reinfections? All we know for sure is that fracking company executives and private equity financiers have made a fortune by touting the myth of energy independence and they wont be the ones who have to pick up the pieces., Bethany McLean, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, is the author of Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How Its Changing the World.. On April 20, oil prices did something theyve never done before. Copyright 2023 WSLS.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. Mnuchin is a former Goldman Sachs executive and hedge fund guy; Blackstones Schwarzman has ties to Trump; Jared Kushners family business has gotten loans from Apollo, according to the Washington Post. Nocera is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion and co-author of Indentured, about the NCAA. By Bethany McLean Coronavirus May Kill Our Fracking Fever Dream America's energy independence was an illusion created by cheap debt. It once seemed utterly unattainable until the advent of fracking, which unleashed a torrent of oil. David Wallace Wells writes that by one estimate. What the Theranos trial says about the blurred lines between visionaries and frauds. David Wallace Wells writes that by one estimate, 100,000 Americans could die each yearfrom the coronavirus. McLean graduated from Hibbing High School in 1988. Portfolio, a Penguin Random House imprint, announced Wednesday that the two had reached an agreement for a news-breaking, character-driven narrative revealing the forces that rendered critical American institutions ill-equipped to cope with the deadliest pandemic since the 1918 Spanish flu and the economic consequences of that failure.. When will the pandemic end? Latest trends. Like so many other facets of the COVID-19 crisis, however, this unprecedented crash exposed long-running cracks in the facade. Following the trail of evidence, Louisiana Senator: Our Maternal Death Rates Are Only Bad If You Count Black Women, If you correct our population for race, were not as much of an outlier as itdotherwise appear.. Workers monitoring a hydraulic fracturing operation near Wink, Texas. The Wuhan Institute of Virology, the cutting-edge biotech facility at the center of swirling suspicions about the pandemics onset, was far more troubled than previously known, explosive documents unearthed by a Senate research team reveal. Private-equity managers won the financial crisis, as Bloomberg put it last fall. She is a writer, known for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005), Independent Lens (1999) and PBS NewsHour (1975). Not only should taxpayer funds not be used to pay management or consulting firms, she says, but companies that take the money should also, for instance, be required to include workers on their corporate boards and gradually increase their minimum wage to at least $15 an hour.