The Week Unpeeled
Egypt erupted and markets tumbled (unrelated though) taking the sizzle out of summer as bloodshed increased between the ousted party in Cairo and the militants (it’s not a “coup,” though, for technical reasons as we learned this week) and stocks fell on concerns that the Fed will ease its easing program. The Dow ended the week down 2.2 percent to close Friday at 15,081.
Elsewhere:
- The Euro recession officially “ended” with economic data in France and Germany suggesting modest recovery;
- US Justice Department grounded the American Airlines/USAirways merger, at least for now;
- Carl Icahn took a $1.5 billion stake in Apple;
- John Paulson, billionaire hedge funder, bought Steinway Pianos for $512 million, the first actual purpose of a company for Paulson and Co., with a nice business/feature story on the transaction from Will Alden in The New York Times, himself once a competitive pianist whose passion for the ivories is evident in his coverage;
- The US charged two JP Morgan traders tied to the London Whale case (but not the whale himself); and
- The media spotlight continued to shine on the upcoming appointment of the next Fed chairman in what seems to be a particularly bright light (and not always flattering) on Larry Summers, the former top economic advisor to Obama, with even Better Midler joining in on Twitter questioning the choice (“Larry Summers, Mr. De-Regulation, has never stepped forward to say… Oops! My bad!” -- which was picked up by The Washington Post and then Maureen Dowd in The New York Times (showing social can actually go traditional viral).
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