Is Wall Street culture to blame for the crash?

How should we reform Wall Street? The conventional wisdom is slash the mega-bonuses and bring on the regulators (not to mention taxpayers). But what about the culture of Wall Street itself? The Ivy Leaguers who work 11- and 12-hour days, seven days a week? The insistence on shareholder above all else? What role did those things play in the meltdown? And are they fixable?

Karen Ho, an anthropology professor at the University of Minnesota, sets out to answer these questions in her recently-released book, “Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street Culture.” Originally a dissertation that Ho started as a grad student at Princeton in the mid-1990s, “Liquidated” approaches investment bankers much as Ralph Linton approached the hill tribes of Madagascar. She goes to work at Bankers Trust (which was subsequently acquired by Deutsche Bank) for a year to observe her subjects (sleeping under desks, refusing to be seen brown-bagging lunches), debriefs them and once the economy begins to unravel in 2007, updates her material to make it timely.

Ho’s main finding: Coddled investment bankers, who come from privileged, educated backgrounds, don’t or can’t empathize with the people whose lives are affected by layoffs, mergers and economic downturns.

[keep reading at SmartMoney.com]

Stop SuperFreaking out, please

Unsurprisingly, “SuperFreakonomics” has made a splash.

Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner are up to their old tricks, but this time, it’s environmentalists they’re pissing off.

They question basic ideas behind climate change science in the book, and activists are angry. If they’re wrong, then fine – plenty of authors make mistakes – but why the vitrol?

I wrote a review of the book for SmartMoney magazine’s Web site a few weeks ago, then a longer piece about the differences between the sequel and its predecessor, Freakonomics.

The most striking thing about the climate change chapter is that the authors write at length about the religious fervor with which people talk about climate change.

Looking at the reactions from many bloggers, it seems they’ve been proven right.

[keep reading]

Dow Jones Newswires & WSJ stories

In my time at Dow Jones this summer, I have had the privilege to be published on the wire and in the Wall Street Journal. Most stories are searchable on the web or on Factiva, and I’ll work on getting the Newswires stories up as well.

In-depth 2009: health care and reform in Rockbridge

My senior capstone project was an intense six weeks of reporting, filming, and website-building, all centered around health care.

The subject turned out to be timely, and even helpful – I just graduated, so I’m going to have to figure out health insurance of my own soon.

But anyway, six weeks’ worth of sweat and caffeine can be found below. My two fellow group members and I built the site from scratch (with plenty of help from the wonderful M. Todd).

Health Care’s Heartbeat:  Health insurance in the Rockbridge area

Update on Vietnam P.O.W. Story

My story about Jim Berger, a Vietnam war veteran who was held as a prisoner of war for 6 years, won a SPJ Mark of Excellence award in Region 2, which includes Delaware, Washington D.C., Virginia, and North Carolina. I placed first in the category for a magazine non-fiction article.

Berger’s story was so compelling that it almost told itself, and I really owe the award to him for sharing it with me.

I posted it a while ago, but you can check it out here.

Follow-up: Goshen Jamboree plans prompt many questions

By Alexandra Scaggs – The Rockbridge Report, 3/19/09

A civil engineer working with the Boy Scouts of America tried to reassure local residents about the impact of putting the Boy Scout Jamboree in Goshen pass at a recent meeting.  But not everyone was convinced.

Isaac Manning spoke to the Rockbridge Partnership and members of the community Mar. 10. Manning said he was there to update area residents and to correct what he said was misinformation about the Jamboree, a national gathering of Boy Scouts.  The organization is considering a move to a Scout camp in Goshen for the 2013 Jamboree.

Manning assured residents that the organization wants to reinvent the way the event is run.

“We’re basically scrapping everything the Scouts have done for the past 35 to 40 years,” he said.

[keep reading]

Boy Scouts eye Goshen for future Jamborees

By Alexandra Scaggs – The Rockbridge Report, 2/26/09

The Boy Scouts of America is eyeing the Goshen area as the permanent home for its  national Jamboree, an event that could bring more than 200,000 people to the area and an estimated $100 million in initial capital investment, according to the organization.

Mike Webb, director of the Rockbridge Partnership, which promotes local business and industry development, has a vision for how that might work.

“Campers could stay on the site and the parents could mosey down to Lexington and spend some money,” Webb said.

If chosen, Goshen will be a permanent part of a National Scouting Center that includes a permanent site for the Jamboree and a wilderness camp in Fayette and Raleigh counties, West Virginia.

The Jamboree, scheduled next for 2013, brings together thousands of Boy Scouts nationwide. The organization also expects the proposed site to include year-round facilities. The Goshen Scout Reservation, a 5,000-acre summer camp currently owned by the National Capital Area Boy Scouts based in Washington, D.C., would host the event.

But some local environmentalists are concerned about possible harm to the new site.

[keep reading]

Farmers catch break with falling fertilizer costs

**From 1/22/09

By Alexandra Scaggs – The Rockbridge Report

Fertilizer prices have recently fallen from historic highs nationwide, and Rockbridge County farmers could reap the benefits,  local farmers and observers say.

But because of widespread volatility in the price of commodities, many also say there is no guarantee.

The American Farm Bureau Federation reported early this month that fertilizer prices had fallen for the first time in six years. And Rockbridge County Extension Agent Jon Repair said last week that prices for nitrogen and phosphorus, two important fertilizer components, had fallen about 40 percent.

But Marc McElroy, assistant manager for the Rockbridge Farmers Cooperative, said he watched prices creep up again last weekend.

“We’re coming into a time in the country where everything is volatile, and fertilizer is starting to follow that,” he said. “In the past 10 years, fertilizer’s been moving at a snail’s pace in volatility. In the past three weeks, it’s been like a rollercoaster.  It’s a little bit frightening to me.”

[keep reading]

Macado’s an instant hit

Macado’s opened in Lexington, Va. in January 2009, and filled a valuable niche. Late at night, when most other restaurants in town are closed, students go to Macado’s, which has locations in Virgina, West Virginia, and North Carolina.

Watch my full video package on the popular restaurant and bar here.

Rockbridge area newspapers sidestep industry’s worst financial woes

By Alexandra Scaggs – The Rockbridge Report, 2/5/09

Despite declining advertising dollars, Rockbridge area newspapers have managed to avoid the bad debt, widespread layoffs and revenue losses plaguing the national newspaper industry.

Regional newspapers haven’t been so lucky.

Employees of  The News Leader in Staunton will be forced to take a five-day unpaid break this year because of financial troubles, along with employees of the other 85 daily newspapers owned by Gannett Co. in the United States.

According to the Newspaper Association of America, total print and online newspaper advertising revenues fell by $8.9 billion in the third quarter of 2008, an 18 percent drop from the prior year.

The immediate reason: Car dealerships and real estate companies, which are two major sources of advertising revenue, have cut advertising costs following the recent decline in those industries.

That means less revenue for newspapers, many of which depend on ad dollars for a significant part of their revenue.

But local papers are by no means immune to all of the industry’s woes.

[keep reading]