It’s impossible to read about the demise of MF Global and not think about Refco, the futures brokerage that collapsed in scandal in 2005 and whose remains were later bought by MF Global. Like Marley’s ghost, the weaknesses that played a part in Refco’s downfall returned to haunt MF Global. Refco’s problems came to light […]
Sure, the positive comments today from Meredith Whitney helped, but give Jefferies (NYSE: JEF) credit for handling its communications well in a very challenging environment. At one point the stock was down 20 percent as rumors swirled about the firm’s exposure to European sovereign debt and a downgrade by Egan-Jones. By day’s end, however, the […]
Jefferies Group (NYSE: JEF) could have spared itself (and its shareholders) a lot of pain if it had better handled the news CEO Richard Handler’s stock sale. The news, reported as a result of a regulatory filing, sent shares of the investment bank tumbling more than 11% on Thursday. They recovered somewhat today, but investors […]
Technology giant HP is demonstrating still another way to fire the CEO – by leaking your intentions to the media. The New York Times and other media outlets, citing anonymous sources “with knowledge of the board’s actions,” are reporting that the board is preparing to oust CEO Léo Apotheker, who has been in the post […]
Today’s press coverage of the continuing drama at UBS suggests the saga is playing out in predictable fashion, as rivals seek to poach UBS deal-makers, whose bonuses are likely to shrivel following the bank’s losses. And speculation is mounting that CEO Oswald Gruebel will have to step aside. The situation has been made worse by […]
UBS has remained oddly silent since its brief press release announcing a $2 billion loss from unauthorized trades in London. The announcement chopped some $5 billion from the bank’s market cap, and neither CEO Oswald Grübel nor any other senior executive has addressed the matter. It’s instructive to compare UBS’s public response to that of […]
Thanks to Yahoo’s dismissal of Carol Bartz, we have a fresh example of how CEO firings are communicated. Instead of a well-crafted joint news release, Bartz herself trumped the company’s announcement by sending a terse, firm-wide email that quickly found its way to the press. And before everyone else had it, Kara Swisher at Dow […]
Last week Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK) abruptly announced that its CEO, Robert Kelly was leaving, citing “differences in approaches to managing the company.” The story made headlines for a day but was quickly forgotten, and the stock price has held pretty steady – both hallmarks of a communications success. Of course it […]