Events keep flying past so quickly that even a weekly has to cast its line forward a long way. There's only one story, and that's what we lead with: the continuing drama in Washington over Henry Paulson's bailout package. On that subject we've got a number of different takes, from our Washington bureau chief Bill McConnell's detailed review of the various plans, to Vipal Monga's dissection of what it means to become a bank holding company, to Michael Rudnick's look at the assets up for sale at American International Group Inc. and my own take on the challenges the bailout poses to the political system. So far, given the ongoing drama in Washington, our overall political theme seems to be holding up quite well.
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Also in this issue, however, is more traditional fare: A profile by David Marcus of the irrepressible and apparently politically ambitious Delaware Chancery Judge Leo Strine. Marcus followed Strine all the way to Harvard, where he teaches a corporate law class, and back to Wilmington, Del., in putting together a detailed look at a fascinating figure who, at 43, has a long career ahead of him.
Just because the world is a mess doesn't mean we've forgotten the deal markets, although we recognize how quickly things can change. But this week, in a deal financing special report, our private equity and middle-market beat reporters assemble a very detailed, top to bottom, look at what's going on out there if you do happen to have a deal to be financed. It's not uplifting, but it is interesting, very fresh and illuminating.
Elsewhere in the issue, Yvette Kantrow writes about the outpouring of trendanistas eager to comment on the downturn, Richard Morgan in Backstory looks at a suit against Sam Zell by a group of L.A. Times reporters, and Jonathan Braude out of our London bureau takes a deep dive into the woes of U.K. pension plans, opening with a shortfall at bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. All of which brings us back to the crisis at hand. Stay tuned. - Robert Teitelman
