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Here are excerpts from several of my stories.
Business Finance
Deals in a Downturn
May 2008
The ongoing Clear Channel Communications saga offers a stark illustration of just how the world of mergers and acquisitions has changed. The story goes back to late 2006, when private equity firms, Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL), agreed to purchase the firm for $39.20 per share. In March of 2008, with the transaction yet to be completed, Bain and THL filed suit against six banks who had committed to finance the deal, alleging that they had reneged on their commitment. "It seems clear that lenders' remorse set in when credit markets worsened," the companies said in a release.
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CFO.com
Pin the Tail on the Doctor
February 2007
A dearth of information leaves health-care consumers in the dark.
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American Way
How Sweet It Is
December 15, 2006
Two or three times a week, Donna Wang, a Chicago-based assistant director in accounting, heads to the Moonstruck Chocolate Café near Chicago's Loop. There she indulges in one of her favorites, such as the Mexican Mocha chocolate drink or the Conquistador hazelnut praline truffle. "It's a treat for myself," she says.
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AARP: The Magazine
A World of Hurt
September/October 2004
Fewer cars in the parking lot, fewer machines on the plant floor: hundreds of jobs have moved to Brazil from a Johnson & Johnson plant in North Brunswick, New Jersey, and the signs are hard to miss. By the end of the year, Fred Rush, 57, a 30-year machine operator and president of his local union, will be among those gone. "It's devastating," he says. "Most of us won't find jobs making the money we make now."
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American Way
Stretching a Buck
February 1, 2005
If it seems like you've been seeing more dollar stores lately, there's a reason. These treasure hunters' havens are popping up everywhere. As of last August, the four largest chains—99¢ Only Stores, Dollar General, Dollar Tree Stores, and Family Dollar—had about 15,000 stores between them. That's nearly double the 7,900 they operated about eight years ago. Revenue has shot up as well, although the pace of growth slowed during 2004. During the five years ending in fiscal 2003, total sales for the group of four jumped 83 percent, to about $15.3 billion.
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Christian Science Monitor
A Civics Lesson on the Back of the Dollar Bill?
December 16, 2003
Do you know the number of articles in the U.S. Constitution? Can you identify the right outlined in the Fourth Amendment? Any idea which amendment abolished slavery?
Most Americans can only guess at the answers. In fact, a paltry 6 percent understand the rights and freedoms found in the first amendment, report the National Constitution Center, a nonprofit organization in Philadelphia.
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Inc. Magazine
Beyond the 401(k)
October 2004
In the 18 months since she launched her own publicity firm in Los Angeles, Samantha Slaven has focused almost entirely on the task at hand: landing clients and building the business. She puts in 60-hour weeks and has taken a major salary cut, paying herself just one-third of what she used to make. Revenue at her four-person shop, Samantha Slaven Publicity, has tripled over the past 12 months, and no wonder why: "When I have a surplus of cash," Slaven says, "it goes right back into the business." Like many entrepreneurs when they're starting out, Slaven, 33, isn't giving much thought to things-such as retirement planning-that don't matter right now. "I haven't had time," she says. "My clients' needs come first."
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