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The Problem of Twelve: When a Few Financial Institutions Control Everything by John Coates Columbia Global Reports, 190 pp. The Harvard economist John Coates argues that the growth of two [...]

Vaccine manufacturing capacity no longer existed in the United States, and the Trump administration was insisting that the vaccines be manufactured domestically. The central idea was to use the government's resources to accelerate the production of vaccines - and, importantly, to remove the financial risk to the vaccine makers by having the government agree to purchase a certain number of doses of any vaccine that gained FDA approval. Features ON A CHILLY DAY IN MID-APRIL 2020, MONCEF SLAOUI, THE RETIRED HEAD OF THE VACCINE DEPARTMENT AT THE PHARMACEUTICAL GIANT GlaxoSmithKline, was sitting by his unopened pool in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, when his phone rang. Its purpose was to design vaccines that could prevent pandemics and, just as important, to build a strong vaccine manufacturing capacity. [Extracted from the article]

Payday lending is a scam, a scourge, an abomination--and as the backlash against it grows, it is slowly being regulated out of existence. Will anything better replace it? FRINGE FINANCIAL [...]

CONSERVATIVES BLAME THE MORTGAGE GIANTS (WRONGLY) FOR THE FINANCIAL CRISIS, AND BOTH PARTIES WANT THEM EAD. But to finish the job of financial reform WITHOUT DESTROYING THE HOUSING MARKET AND [...]

WALL STREET IS an unlikely vanguard against corporate America's diversity problem. The white shoes of investment management are still worn almost exclusively by white men. So it's notable that the [...]

Byline: PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARIO TESTINO * STYLED BY JESSICA DIEHL A Tap on the Back Despite the surreal fame-and baggage-carried by Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, their relationship makes perfect [...]

FASTER, HIGHER, FARTHERThe Volkswagen ScandalBy Jack EwingIllustrated. 337 pp. W. W. Norton & Company. $27.95. On Sept. 18, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency accused Volkswagen of equipping its diesel engines [...]

COMEY'S LAW When President Obama chose him as F.B.I. director, in 2013, James Comey was widely admired for his principles and probity. But his investigation into Hillary Clinton's e-mails-culminating in [...]

The article reports on a lawsuit brought by former hedge fund operator David Ganek against U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara over alleged prosecutorial misconduct in the criminal investigation of alleged insider trading by Ganek. Topics include Bharara's record of insider-trading convictions and Ganek's attorney Barry Scheck.

The losses of the 2008 financial collapse were huge. Why can't artists look away? Albert Camus once said that 'fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth,' and [...]

DIGITAL GOLD Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money By Nathaniel Popper 398 pp. Harper/HarperCollins Publishers. $27.99. If you wanted to create an [...]

Profiles the success of Merrill Lynch and the headmanship of Dan Tully. Merrill Lynch's total client assets; The company's dominance in both situational business specialties and in selling stocks, bonds, and funds to the public; David Komansky; Tully's business strategy; Tully's history with the company; Merrill Lynch's weaknesses. INSETS: The cost of Orange County, by Bethany McLean;A stock for all seasons? by Bethany McLean.

AMERICA'S FISCAL CONSTITUTION Its Triumph and Collapse By Bill White 557 pp. PublicAffairs. $35. ''We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without asking the loss also of their [...]

An excerpt from the book "All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis," by Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera is presented.

The article presents the transcript of a roundtable discussion among a number of U.S. business journalists. A number of topics are addressed including the business reaction to the global financial crisis of 2008-09, financial reform in the U.S., protection of consumers, and banking regulation. The journalists are Becky Quick of CNBC, Larry Ingrassia and Joe Nocera of "The New York Times," James B. Stewart of "The New Yorker," Bethany McLean of "Vanity Fair," and Carol Loomis and Allan Sloan of "Fortune."

The article profiles Brian Hunter, a former trader of natural-gas futures at the now defunct hedge fund Amaranth, who was accused of losing billions of dollars through bad trading. Presented in the article is biographical material and career-related information, along with details surrounding investigations into his actions by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). INSET: THE CASE(S) AGAINST HUNTER.

The article presents a profile of Lloyd Blankfein, the chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs, focusing on the company's success and Blankfein's efforts to perpetuate it. Goldman Sachs managed to avoid the financial disasters associated with the subprime mortgage crisis, which swamped some of the company's competitors. Blankfein is quoted commenting on the combination of preparedness and good luck which he considers essential.

The article discusses the business and marketing strategies of jewelry company Hearts on Fire. The company sells high end diamonds it markets as a luxury brand for a higher price. The company held a three day convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, called Hearts on Fire University, to teach retailers how to convince consumers to spend 20 percent more for a diamond.

The article discusses Macquarie Bank, an Australian firm that specializes in infrastructure funds. Macqaurie takes advantage of governments that are strapped for money by purchasing the right to run toll roads from them and then selling the road to the public through initial public offerings (IPO). Over 20% of Macquarie's stock is owned by North American investors. The company received negative public response in 2002 when they purchased the Sydney Airport.

The article focuses on Amerigroup, a publicly traded health insurer that provides Medicaid patients with managed care services. The costs of Medicaid and Medicare are discussed, including the fact that Medicaid is the biggest drain on state budgets. A brief history of health care companies in the U.S. is presented. Amerigroup, for example, increased by buying smaller health care providers. "Medical loss ratios" are discussed as a benchmark of patient care and insurance company profits.