North Dakota Coronavirus Map and Case Count - The New York Times Thats because one big source of funding didnt dry up: private equity. Dec 2020 - Apr 20221 year 5 months. In the first half of 2019, when oil was around $55 a barrel, only a few top-tier companies were profitable. According to the CARES Act, companies can only receive loans from the Small Business Administration if they commit to preserving jobs. Exclusive: Inside the S--tshow That Was the Trump-Biden Transition. Bethany McLean is a Vanity Fair contributing editor. Bethany McLean is a Vanity Fair contributing editor. More than 100,000 people already have died in this country from the virus. (And not all private-equity firms care equally about all of the programs.) As a group of scientists who study virusesexplains, Theres no reason, at least biologically, that the virus wont continue to evolve.From a different angle, the science writer David Quammen surveys some of the highly effective tools and techniques that are now available for studying Covid and other viruses, but notes that such knowledge alone wont blunt the danger. 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. NEW YORK Business writers Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera are collaborating on a critical take of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic. By Bethany McLean Coronavirus May Kill Our Fracking Fever Dream America's energy independence was an illusion created by cheap debt. Some of it may be on bank balance sheets. All thats left to tally is the damage. BETHANY MCLEAN - wsls.com There were rumblings that shale companies would seek a federal lifeline. Ever since Congress voted to hand out $2 trillion in taxpayer money to those hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, American businesses have been scrambling for a piece of the action. Looking for more? Nocera and McLean writing book on U.S. coronavirus response There are several pots of federal money that the private-equity industry is lobbying to access. Nursing home COVID-19 outbreak reported in Merced County, CA | Merced Nocera and McLean writing book on U.S. coronavirus response Its essential that we do the same today. If private equity suffers, the blow will reverberate throughout the entire economy. The private-equity industry also wants the companies they have invested in to have access to the $454 billion being doled out through the Treasury, an amount that the Fed said could be leveraged into over $2 trillion. All thats left to tally is the environmental and financial damage. Unfortunately, there isnt really an alternative to providing private equity with federal funds. Beleaguered pension funds, which suffered big losses in the financial crisis, could no longer count on decent returns from fixed investments, given how low interest rates have been kept by the Fed. A college student in Indiana died in her dorm room after testing positive for the coronavirus, school officials and her family said. BLOOMINGTON A total of 208 new COVID-19 cases have been reported by the McLean County Health Department from Jan. 27 through Friday. sure to go down in history as one of the wildest business stories ever. That means public pensions might be forced to dump their holdings in public-backed investments to provide private-equity firms with emergency casha move that could depress the stock market even further. In 2019, Mclean launched a podcast titled Making a Killing on Luminary. Business and Society Lecture features journalist Bethany McLean 500 energy sector fell 20 percent, marking the sectors largest drop on record. Dylan Hollingsworth for The New York Times. Daily updates from Washington, Wall Street, and Silicon Valley. Bethany Mclean - KPRC More than 100,000 people already have died in this country from the virus. Even as the public equity and debt markets grew cautious, drilling continued. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. [9], In September 2018, she published Saudi America: The Truth about Fracking and How It's Changing the World which examined the "fracking revolution" and U.S. energy independence. These firms not only have a record $1.5 trillion in cash on the sidelines, waiting to be invested, but their CEOs are among Americas richest executives. But they wont fix its fundamental problem with profitability. According to the Institutional Limited Partners Association. Has its bubble finally burst? Occidental is just one piece of the puzzle. January 2022 was the month with the highest average cases, while November 2020 was the month with the highest . Energy independence was a fever dream, fed by cheap debt and frothy capital markets. All rights reserved. After nearly bringing down the economy in 2008, how is it possible that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are still around? The 42 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time, The 25 Best Shows on Netflix to Watch Right Now. 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. (Many of the companies owned by mammoth private-equity firms like Blackstone are too big on their own to qualify for this bucket of money.). Colombias Amazing Race to Build a $1,000 Ventilator Frontline Doctors Race to Learn the Mysteries of Coronavirus How Dr. Anthony Faucis Media Strategy Is Revolutionizing Coronavirus Messaging Can Americas Crowd-Driven Spectacles Return for the Fall Season? From the Archive: Following the Psychological Contagion That Fed the 2014 Ebola Outbreak. The Big Fail - by Joe Nocera & Bethany McLean (Hardcover) 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.. Americas energy independence was an illusion created by cheap debt. The book was later made into the Academy Award-nominated documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. About Bethany McLean is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Unlike venture capitalists, who provide start-up funds to new companies, private-equity firms generally take over existing businesses, usually by borrowing large sums of money. 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.. In the Haynesville and the Utica Shales, two major natural gas plays, over half of the drilling is being done by private equity-backed companies; in the oil-rich Permian Basin, its about a quarter of the drilling. [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]. Over the past 10 years, the entire energy industry has issued over $400 billion in high-yield debt. The immunobiologist Akiko Iwasakiwrites that new vaccines, particular those delivered through the nose, may be part of the answer. Regarding another ongoing Covid danger, that of reinfections, a virologist sets the record straight: There has yet to be a variant that negates the benefits of vaccines.. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer), (Rick Bowmer, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. She is known for her writing on the Enron scandal and the 2008 financial crisis. 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. What could endemic Covid look like? Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more. Workers monitoring a hydraulic fracturing operation near Wink, Texas. 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. As a result, the stocks that make up the S.&P. In 2018, according to analytics firm eVestment, pension funds in the U.S. and the U.K. pumped 27% of their fresh allocations of money into private-equity funds, up from 25% the year before. Nocera and McLean writing book on U.S. coronavirus response [1] It details how the financial crisis bubbled up from a volatile, and bipartisan, mixture of government meddling and laissez-faire. Think of private-equity firms as the banks of the corona crisis: They are, for better or worse, too big to fail. 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. If you need help with the Public File, call (713) 778-4745. The promised profits havent materialized. 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. According to Dan Rasmussen, the founder of Verdad Advisers, private-equity firms typically double the amount of debt relative to profits on a companys balance sheet. More than 100,000 people already have died in this country from the virus. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. 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 active outbreak list is intended to inform the public of the current COVID-19 outbreaks in Los Angeles County. McLean is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and co-author of the Enron book The Smartest Guys in the Room. Nocera is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion and co-author of Indentured, about the NCAA. Previous assignments include editor-at-large, columnist for Fortune, and a contributor to Slate . We asked three experts two immunologists and an epidemiologist to weigh in on this and some of the hundreds of other questions weve gathered from readers recently, including how to make sense of booster and test timing, recommendations for children, whether getting covid is just inevitable and other pressing queries. On March 9, the price of oil plunged by almost a third, its steepest one-day drop in almost 30 years. Actually, no. The taxpayer handouts will also help private equity continue its relentless march through the global economy, snapping up troubled companies at bargain prices or extending high-priced credit as other investors, including hedge funds, are forced to sell off their holdings in the post-corona landscape. NEW YORK Business writers Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera are collaborating on a critical take of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic. 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. Was Tiffany involved? 2 FOR DRIVE-THRU TESTING RESULTS: Lab samples are sent to an off-site laboratory and results may take 1 to 2 days or even longer in some instances or in times of peak demand. All rights reserved). More than 100,000 people already have died in this country from the virus. Increasingly desperate to boost the portfolios of retiring workers, they too turned to private equity as their saviorurged on by private equitys promises that it alone could deliver the necessary returns. But among those angling for a federal handout is one of the wealthiest sectors of the American economy: private equity. Nocera is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion and co-author of Indentured, about the NCAA. The socio-economic status of individuals needing . A deal, and higher oil prices, might help the industry. A hydraulic fracturing site in Denton, Texas. 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.. COVID-19: Medical Sheltering at the Bell Gardens Quality Inn and Suites Getting the government out of the housing market would mean saying goodbye to the 30-year mortgage. We need private equity, we need more of it, and we need it now, chief investment officer Ben Meng said in early 2019right before CalPERS hired a former private-equity guy, who began his career at Goldman Sachs, to head its private-equity efforts. "[3] The article noted some irregularities in Enron's financial documents that were available to the public, suggesting the company's then-record high stock price was unjustified but she did not at that point suspect fraud at Enron. (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. Because rules for access to this money werent specified in the CARES Act, as ILPA notes, the executive branch will have a fair amount of discretion over who gets access to the moneyand private-equity firms want to take full advantage of that opening. 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. 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. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. On April 20, oil prices did something theyve never done before. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.htm January 12, 2022 COVID Update Update on Bethany College COVID Response 2023 Cond Nast. 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. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Ad Choices. The True Story of the Comey Letter Debacle | Vanity Fair 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. Book review of The Power LawVenture Capital and the Making of the New COVID-19 Origins: Investigating a "Complex and Grave Situation" Inside a Wuhan Lab. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How Its Changing the World., stocks that make up the S.&P. In early 2015, the hedge fund manager David Einhorn announced at an investment conference that he had looked at the financial statements of 16 publicly traded shale producers and found that from 2006 to 2014, they spent $80 billion more than they received from selling oil. Bethany McLean is a Vanity Fair contributing editor. Fractivism: Corporate Bodies and Chemical Bonds, A Moderate Proposal: Nationalize The Fossil Fuel Industry, https://media.blubrry.com/belabored/dissentmagazine.org/mp3/24HotBothered.mp3. [16] McLean resides in Chicago with her children. Writer: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Latest trends. Portfolio, a Penguin Random House imprint . 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. And President Trump reveled in the rhetoric: We hadnt merely achieved independence, his administration said, but rather energy dominance.. In September 2015, she published Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants which examines the governance and financial situation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac seven years after the 2008 financial crisis. Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career