Category Archives: Private equity

As Risky Finances Alienate Investors, Fracking Companies Look to Retirement Funds for Cash

Latest DeSmogBlog coverage of fracking follies: the still unprofitable industry turns to pension funds and private equity for capital.

Elizabeth Warren Seeks to Cut Private Equity Down to Size

Elizabeth Warren’s bill to end private equity abuses targets a wide range of bad practices.

Everything’s Fine Until Suddenly it Isn’t: How a “Leveraged Loan” Blows Up

A post-mortem of a leveraged loan bust: private equity wins, too bad for everyone holding the bag.

Mr. Market and the Press Diss Deutsche Bank’s Turnaround Plan

A hard look at Deutsche’s restructuring plan reveals a lot not to like

Reforestation as a Solution for Carbon Capture: Hype and Reality

Advocates for reforestation must consider who owns the land to be reforested, and how the reforestation is to be done.

Private Equity and “Institutional” Investor Owned U.K. Utility Engaged in Massive Fraud, Regulatory Evasions, Worker Coercion, Caused “Catastrophic” Environmental Damage

Abuses like raw sewage on beaches and faking regulatory filings make a U.K. water utility a new low in privatization scandals.

CalPERS Admits It Is Nowhere on Its New Private Scheme After More Than Two Years

Why CalPERS’ private equity “new business model” dithering is looking an awful lot like Brexit.

Good Riddance to CalPERS’ Bill Slaton; Board Changes May (Finally) Lead to Staff Serving Beneficiaries, Not Its Own Interests

Why beneficiaries and California taxpayers should welcome Lisa Middleton replacing Bill Slaton on the CalPERS board.

Private Equity Investors’ Pockets Picked Even More With Increases in Carry Fees

More evidence that private equity is an exercise in separating fools from their money.

UK-Based Multinational Department Store Debenhams Collapses After 200 Years of Trading. Thank Private Equity

Debenhams follows the sad and well trodden path of retailers bought by private equity firms.

Memo to CalPERS: The Market Won’t Provide High Returns Just Because You Need Them

A professional fund manager describes why CalPERS’ private equity strategy is irrational.

Who’s Behind Trump’s Claim the Green New Deal Will Cost $100 Trillion?

President Trump’s claim that the Green New Deal would cost $100 trillion can be traced back to the Manhattan Institute, a think tank backed by fossil fuel investor Paul Singer and companies like ExxonMobil.

Prominent CalPERS Beneficiaries Send Forceful, Savvy Objections to the Proposed Private Equity Scheme; Contrast With Canned Letters CalPERS Pressed Allies to Submit

As important stakeholders sound alarms, more evidence that CalPERS can’t make an honest case for its “new” private equity scheme and is calling in chips in a big way to cover for that.

JJ Jelincic: CalPERS’ Plan to Create 2 New Private Equity Companies, Give Away Billions With No Control Makes No Sense….Except to Make Fund Managers Rich

CalPERS still can’t justify its new private equity business model, and has even retreated to calling it just a concept, yet it wants the board to sign a blank check at next week’s meeting.

CalPERS/Investor Alert: Award Winning Study Debunks “Warren Buffett” Fund Strategy; Buffett Does Better in Stocks Than Private Companies

Warren Bufett’s own experience calls “Warren Buffet funds” into question.