Carlyle Group suffers public humiliation

[Auggie]

Steven Pearlstein, Washington Post: 9- 9-2007

Carlyle Group isn't accustomed to failure. Over the past 15 years, it has built itself into one of the world's biggest and most successful private-equity funds by seeing value where others didn't. For most of that time, its risks have been carefully calculated, its timing nearly impeccable.

Which makes it all the more noteworthy that, over the past month, Carlyle has been forced to lend $200 million of its own money, and take back some of its own loans, to rescue Carlyle Capital, a recently launched offshore investment subsidiary that got badly squeezed by the recent credit-market turmoil. It was a rare public humiliation for Carlyle. And it presented a sufficient risk to its reputation that its founding partners felt they had no choice but to use their own funds to shore it up.

more: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/09/09/BU89RVHIH.DTL&type=business

While I'm glad to hear these war profiteers are taking their lumps, one has to wonder if $200 million represents chump change to them.

Furthermore, how about some clarification from the author: "Its risks have been carefully calculated, its timing nearly impeccable" They OWN the White House. And Congress.

Oh, I guess that's carefully calculated timing.

[aquart]

1. When they experience personal financial devastation, let me know.

[Beam Me Up]

15. ^^ First *LoL* of the day. n/t

[grasswire]

2. do they mention any connection to the Bush family?

[Auggie]

6. No.

[BuelahWitch]

3. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch!

[msongs]

4. ya don't suppose there will be a congressional bailout of profiteers and real estate flippers? nt

[Auggie]

7. They can be sneakier about it than that...

Award a Carlyle company a big fat war contract.

[enid602]

5. Carlisle

When even carlisle gets caught up in the credit slump, you know it's bad.

[bridgit]

8. oh no, that's sad, i just hate it when hard times befall the righteous...

:sarcasm:

[bbgrunt]

9. when they squeeze all the money into a few private hands, the

Carlyle group can simply go bankrupt--another empty vessel that has accomplished its task.

[peacetalksforall]

10. After the nuclear ride from ND to LA, I read (hadn't previous known) that

Carlyle, Bechtel, and the U.C Regents own our nuclear weapons (abbreviated version). Maybe they might want to sell some to Paraguay.

[ToolTex]

12. Higher Class, would you please provide a link to this ownership?

I have never heard this before, and would like to follow up on it.

[peacetalksforall]

20. See #16 - I replied to the wrong message.

[peacetalksforall]

16. I am DU shy about linking - unless it's DailyKos or someone else similar.

Here is one with background about the UC Regents.

http://www.ucnuclearfree.org/events/just_another_nuclear_weapons_firm.htm

I'll just enter one more that I linked to when I read about this. I had not heard about this either.

http://www.sfbayview.com/20061226198/News/Front_Page/From_Hiroshima_to_Iraq_61_years_of_uranium_wars_A_suicidal_genocidal_omnicidal_course.html

There are three parts to the sfbayview writings with this title, From Hiroshima .... all worth reading - one of them brings in bechtel.

Otherwise, search these three words, carlyle bechtel nuclear then add regents.

I'm not sure how to say it legally, so I'll give my impression from starting to read all this - our weapons were privatized right under our nose.

[stillcool]

11. Seeing as how they are invested...

in every industry on the planet, I'm sure they can eat it. Chump change indeed.

[formercia]

13. Isn't it wonderful to be able to see the future

especially when your best buddies have already decided what the future is going to be?

"Over the past 15 years, it has built itself into one of the world's biggest and most successful private-equity funds by seeing value where others didn't."

:rofl:

[libodem]

14. Praise God

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. You know things are bad when the people with all the connections and pull

can't make a buck.

[Canuckistanian]

18. $200 mil?

They probably spill that much during lunches every year.

[seemslikeadream]

19. Does that mean they're going to give up the bomb?

[Joe Chi Minh]

21. Our TV investigative reporters are mustard at lulling their subject

into a false sense of security, then suddenly lowering the boom.

I saw a hilarous example of it the other week on the box, in which the reporter inveigled ex-Tory PM, Major to unctuously intone that he would never, ever dream of exploiting his former position as the PM. Not in a million years.

I believe the reporter then said to him something like, "Aren't you the Chairman of Carlyle Europe, the armaments Group?" Whereupon, Major gave a blustering kind of answer, stating repreatedly that he had never lobbied for them. Then realising it sounded like he was ashamed of them and trying to distance himself from them, he intoned words to the effect that they were a fine Group. A fine company. Absolutely hilarious!

Here's an interesting link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/wtccrash/story/0,1300,583869,00.html#article_continue

[Swamp Rat]

22. They deserve far worse

[jazzjunkysue]

23. Introducing the DU Noppity String Quartet of Pity

:nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity:

Free hankies, everybody.