Bunhill: Prize before a fall
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.MAN of the Year awards invariably prove the kiss of death to the careers of the unlucky winners. Such awards are generally a reliable indicator of who will be falling off their perch in the next 12 months. (The Guardian Young Businessman of the Year award has always proved particularly reliable, having been won by a string of idols, such as John Ashcroft of Coloroll and John Gunn of British & Commonwealth, who swiftly fell from grace thereafter.)
So imagine my delight when I discovered another one last week: the annual Man of the Year chosen from among the employees of Kidder Peabody, the US broking firm.
Over the years, Kidder has revealed a quite breathtaking lack of judgement. Among the chosen ones of the 1980s was Peter Brandt, a successful broker. Shortly after receiving his award, Brandt was led away by the Securities and Exchange Commission for participating in an insider dealing ring centred on a journalist at the Wall Street Journal.
Another Kidder Man of the Year was none other than Marty Siegal, then head of the corporate finance division. Almost immediately, Siegal was caught receiving suitcases full of used greenbacks from a certain Ivan Boesky in return for passing the arbitrageur inside information about Kidder's deals.
Most recently, Kidder's top dealer, Joseph Jett, was singled out for stardom. Soon afterwards he was accused of operating a complex multi-million dollar bond scam. Although he protests his innocence and has not been charged, he is now under investigation by the SEC and the New York Stock Exchange - as, indeed, is everybody else at Kidder Peabody. The case continues.
Meanwhile, I am happy to assure you that Bunhill has never won an award for Diary of the Year.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments