Topic: Buyouts

Merrill Lynch Works - at Home

The Wall Street giant has created a one-of-a-kind program to teach its telecommuters how to get the job done.READ»

Fruit Stand Lending

Who's that man walking through the street markets of Ecuador, trying to make $50 loans? It's Michael Chu, a former executive of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Co., the world's most powerful leveraged buyout operator.READ»

Will You Be Acquired, and Then What Happens?

A common misconception from companies contemplating an exit is that M&A has dried up as the venture and IPO markets have. This is not to say that M&A hasn’t been affected by the current market conditions, but dried up? No. Case ...READ»

Hennion and Walsh: What's Ahead For The Financial System?

"With the continued news and noise around AIG, Washington Mutual, Lehman Bros. and Merrill Lynch, it all seems like it's going up to a crescendo in terms of the doom and gloom and bad news."READ»

Tales from Telecommuters

Two Merrill Lynch telecommuters share their experiences.READ»

Why Incentives Are Irresistible, Effective, and Likely to Backfire

Ken O'Brien was an NFL quarterback in the 1980s and 1990s. Early in his career, he threw a lot of interceptions, so one clever team lawyer wrote a clause into O'Brien's contract penalizing him for each one he threw. The incentive ...READ»

• Incentive Clauses Gone Bad
• CEOs Who Risk Big for Big Paydays

Merrill Lynch Phones Ahead

The Wall Street giant is making a major bet on Internet-based telephony as a way to improve service and enhance flexibility. Here's a case study on the promise and pitfalls of technology-driven innovation.READ»

Advertisers in Issue 45

Interact with the companies whose products and services are advertised in Fast Company.READ»

Prime Partners: The Housing Partnership Network

President: Thomas Bledsoe www.housingpartnership.net Grade: A- Winner's Statement Tom Bledsoe's vision was collapsing. Bledsoe, president of the Housing Partnership Network, a Boston-based community-development advocate, was set ...READ»

You Have More Than One Boss

A three-step battle plan to avoid the cross fire.READ»

Survey Says ...

More questions and answers from this month's Fast Company-Roper Starch survey.READ»

CEOs Who Risk Big for Big Paydays

    Research shows that incentivizing CEOs with large pay and stock-option packages doesn't always have the intended effect of aligning their interests with shareholders. These six CEOs got fired because their risky moves ...READ»

• Why Incentives Are Effective, Irresistable, and Almost Certain to Backfire
• Incentive Clauses Gone Bad

Jonathan Cohen: The Analyst

Jonathan Cohen was branded a killjoy when, in late 1998, he issued an analyst report suggesting that Amazon.com was overvalued by several billion dollars. Since Amazon's fall from grace, he has gained a little vindication but much insight into why most analysts don't deliver bad news when they should.READ»