INSIDE FORTUNE: Bank Analyst Meredith Whitney's New Forecast; The Rise and Fall of Bear's Jimmy Cayne
Highlights of the August 18, 2008 Issue of FORTUNE
Available on newsstands August 11, full stories are available at www.FORTUNE.com.
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In less than a year Meredith Whitney has transformed herself from a Wall Street back-bencher into the most influential stock analyst in America. And certainly the most bearish. Whitney's rise to prominence began last October when she dropped jaws from New York to London with her audacious (yet spot on) prediction that Citigroup would be forced to cut its dividend to prop up its leaky balance sheet. She followed that call with forecasts of more losses and write-downs at the likes of Bank of America, Lehman Brothers, and UBS. Her forecast now: more pain on the way. FORTUNE's Jon Birger delivers this Investor's Special Report.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/04/news/newsmakers/whitney_oppenheimer.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008080411
A BANK BUILT ON A BUBBLE
Upstart lenders like Arizona's Towne Bank took off like rockets during the real estate boom, but then the world changed. The Sunbelt banking crisis hit with the sudden collapse of home prices — and the crisis isn't over yet. Dozens of banks may fail this year, and credit is drying up faster than a Phoenix sidewalk after an afternoon downpour. The tale of Towne Bank illustrates all the ways in which go-go lenders thrived on risk and now aggravate the economic pain as they struggle to survive. FORTUNE's David Whitford visits the aftermath of the Sunbelt housing bust — and a small bank's struggle to clean up its act.
THE RISE AND FALL OF JIMMY CAYNE
In 1964 he came to Manhattan with the ambition of becoming a professional bridge player. In 1993 he became the CEO of Bear Stearns. Last summer he was worth $1.6 billion on paper. This winter Bear Stearns collapsed. Here, for the first time, he breaks his silence about how things went wrong. FORTUNE's William D. Cohan details the rise and fall of Jimmy Cayne.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/31/news/companies/bear_excerpt.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008080410
99 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL
All-American beers are increasingly a thing of the past; these days you are more likely to be cracking open a cold one owned by a conglomerate with roots abroad. The brouhaha got the staff here at FORTUNE waxing nostalgic about our favorite beers from our early drinking days — and wondering who owns them now. FORTUNE's Beth Kowitt delivers FORTUNE's home-brewed guide to American beer lineage based on an unscientific (but highly opinionated) survey of FORTUNE staffers — with help from industry experts.
CAN CHRYSLER SURVIVE?
For the past year Chrysler, the frailest of Detroit's automakers, has been run as a private company under the ownership of Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm. Cerberus doesn't want to be in the auto business; it is in the money business, and the sooner it can transform the former into the latter, the happier it (and its investors) will be. At the intersection of Cerberus and the auto business stands CEO Bob Nardelli. FORTUNE's Alex Taylor III details why Nardelli badly needs a hit if the company is to endure.
SUBURBIA COMES TO CHINA
The construction around Beijing for the Olympics gets all the attention, but another hugely important building boom in happening. Millions of newly affluent Chinese are moving to vast "satellite cities" rising on the fringes of the country's megalopolises. FORTUNE's Bill Powell details the story of one family's new hometown and how the exodus is reshaping China — and rocking the global economy.
FIRST
California Drillin' Reversing the ban on offshore drilling could dramatically increase the number of new wells. Pac-Man Goes Hollywood Marvel's ex-chief plans a movie version of the '80s arcade hit. From WMD to Energy Iraqi yellowcake may soon power your home. The Deal When it comes to tax loopholes, there are few better than Sam Zell. Will he strike again with the Cubs deal? Saudi Arabia Turns to Gold... And copper and bauxite and phosphate. Marketing Wal-Mart enters the ad age. Value Driven Is it possible that Europeans, famed for their endless vacations, work as much as we do? Question Authority Former AmEx CEO Jim Robinson is guiding tech startups through the credit crunch. The Long and Short of It How Zimbabwe's ruler ruined an entire economy — and why it will bring him down.
TECHNOLOGY
The True Meaning of Twitter What exactly is Twitter? And what does its exploding popularity say about the state of the tech industry? Inside the hottest web startup since... gosh, February.
LIFE AT THE TOP
Never Fly Coach Again Take a ride on the hottest new business jet in the air. Plus: jet etiquette and how to fly private for less. Joy Ride Three minis that manage to combine out — there gas mileage with just enough zoom. Book Review Kingmakers — Brits, twits, and others who made the Middle East the mess it is today.
MEGA-PROJECTS
Bigger is Better Royal Caribbean is spending more than $1 billion to build the largest passenger ship ever conceived. The third in a series on the world's most ambitious construction projects.
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CONTACTS:
Brett LeVecchio
212-522-0361
brett_levecchio@timeinc.com
Katy Reitz
212-522-6724
Katy_Reitz@timeinc.com
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