ARTICLES
Romania, Land of Surprises
[Originally published in the May 2010 edition of Elle magazine.] There are two inevitable events when you move to Romania. One, you get lost. “Excuse me, where is this...
Obama in America
[Originally published in the April 2009 issue of Elle magazine.] During last year’s US presidential campaign, the opposition portrayed Barack Obama as nothing more than...
Rethink Head Start? Let’s Begin Here
[The Baltimore Sun] My 4-year-old son, Sam, has a big problem in school. He loves it. He is interested. He is cared for. He has fun. He is learning. Yes, his class is...
Regulatory Blues Squabble Over Financial Condition
[The Baltimore Sun] Twenty minutes. In just 20 minutes — less than the length of a long coffee break — legislators in Annapolis had heard enough from the state’s top...
Rates’ Swift Descent Leaves Small Banks Dizzy
[The Baltimore Sun] This year’s steep drop in interest rates might have borrowers rejoicing, but it has small community bankers scrambling. Friday’s move by the Federal...
Leniency for bank industry sought: Regulators are urged to back more lending.
[The Baltimore Sun] Top administration officials asked bank and thrift examiners yesterday to extend the benefit of the doubt and use common sense when working with the...
MNC’s reluctant real estate mogul wants to liquidate empire fast
[The Baltimore Sun] Everything about it is immense. The numbers. The task. The risk. The financial disasters that gave it birth. It is a nearly $2 billion pile of...
Insurance probes keep Md. family under siege
[The Baltimore Sun] He never knew the Mounties were watching. The bald, bearded man in the tweed jacket followed his weekly circuit through Windsor, Ontario. He stopped...
Classic Gorby: THE SOVIET CRISIS
[The Baltimore Sun] It’s a conspiracy theorist’s dream come true. A popular leader is forcibly removed and tens of thousands of people are outraged. Demanding the...
MNC’s Fall From Grace: Risky loans eroded Hoblitzell’s dream
For a while, Alan Penniman Hoblitzell Jr. saw the future earlier and clearer than most. As tumultuous changes loomed in the banking industry during the 1980s, he...
Lerner Wants to Keep MNC ‘Flying’
[The Baltimore Sun] Alfred Lerner can make it sound so easy. Borrow money from depositors at one price. Lend it to others at a higher price. And make a profit from the...
Marriott Slims Down
[The Baltimore Sun] Bill Marriott has a nightmare. A man loses a $40 bottle of cologne at a Marriott hotel. He calls the front desk. The assistant manager says he is...
Success Comes Easily to Nova Founders
[The Baltimore Sun] David and Isaac Blech like to start companies. In fact, in the past eight years, they have started companies nearly as often as many people have...
Talking Deals: ‘Tenuous’ Time For Southland
[The New York Times] A multibillion-dollar leveraged buyout - financed through the sale of assets and the issuance of high-yield bonds - is a risky venture under the...
Enron to Close Unit After Costly Trades
[The New York Times] The Enron Corporation said today that it would permanently close its Enron Oil Corporation subsidiary after learning that the unit had lost $85...
Business People: A Friend of H. L. Hunt Battles His Son in Court
[The New York Times] As the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Texas in 1964, Jack A. Crichton knew he did not have much of a chance. Running against the incumbent,...
Lomas Brightens Its Horizons
[The New York Times] For nearly 20 years, the Lomas & Nettleton Financial Corporation was the undisputed leader in the staid mortgage banking business. No longer,...
Business Technology: Treating Bone Diseases with Electricity
[The New York Times] ALTHOUGH scientists continue to debate exactly why and how it works, the process of applying electricity to aid in the repair and growth of bones -...
Business and the Law: Hunts’ Tactics May Pay Off
[The New York Times] THE William Herbert Hunt trust estate, the largest privately held trust to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has repeatedly used extraordinary...
El Paso Is Puzzled By Player’s Death
[The New York Times] A medical examiner's finding today provided few answers for the people of El Paso as they continued to search for the reason behind the death of...