Doug Schmidt Blog & Writings

Black & Decker I: How Our System Rewards Failure

Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE: BDK), based in the Baltimore suburb of Towson, announced in early November that it was merging with The Stanley Works (NYSE:SWK) based in Connecticut.  As per the usual script, this “merger” was hailed as a great step forward for Black & Decker.  Black & Decker shareholders would receive (in stock […]

Investment Bankers as Heroic Figures

You may have heard recently that the BBC Radio has produced a fictionalized dramatic account of the attempt to save Lehman Brothers with top actors playing former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Lehman CEO Richard Fuld.  I had to laugh on several levels.  I was a junior officer at Drexel Burnham during its final days, […]