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John Gapper is associate editor and chief business commentator of the Financial Times. He writes a weekly column, appearing on Thursdays on the comment page, about business trends and strategy. He also contributes leaders and other articles.
He has worked for the FT since 1987, covering labour relations, banking and the media. In 1991-92, he was a Harkness fellow of the Commonwealth Fund of New York, and studied US education and training at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is co-author, with Nicholas Denton, of All That Glitters, an account of the collapse of Barings in 1995.
NEW: Read John Gapper’s Business Blog
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America was right to look and learn
The latest version of the US bail-out plan at least stands a fair chance of success. Mr Bush and Mr Paulson were forced to accept that they were either with European governments or the markets would be against them, writes John Gapper
A pause for repentance, or the end of big bonuses?
There will now be two kinds of Wall Street employer: safe and decently paid or risky and highly paid, writes John Gapper
Some of the fault lies closer to home
When in trouble, humans tend to blame others, writes John Gapper, and many British people have blamed Americans for the subprime mortgage mess. But we home buyers and mortgage borrowers share the fault, whether we are American, British or Icelandic
The fatal banker’s fall
It is hard to imagine Wall Street dusting itself off and getting back to business as usual this time. For one thing, bankers’ unpopularity – with politicians, regulators and the rest of us – has been propelled to greater heights than before by this crisis, writes John Gapper
Whatever is good for Goldman ...
Goldman partners are not only smarter than the average Wall Street bear, but often turn up in “public service”, running finance ministries and central banks. Most of the time, this intermingling is not pernicious. Even so, the next president should recruit from elsewhere, writes John Gapper
King’s men must put themselves together again
Humpty Dumpty seems an apt metaphor for the global financial system, which has fallen down and cannot get back up on its own, writes John Gapper
This greed was beyond irresponsible
AIG has burned through its equity, spread financial chaos to all corners of the earth and humiliated the US Treasury. Call me a spoilsport, but I do not believe that AIG or any other capital markets institution should be allowed to play like that with my money, writes John Gapper
After 73 years: the last gasp of the broker-dealer
Sunday marked not simply the end of Lehman Brothers and the surrender of Merrill Lynch but the demise of the independent investment bank itself. For how long can Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley spurn the capital backing of a commercial bank, asks John Gapper
A tragedy of hubris and nemesis
Dick Fuld reformed Lehman, but he never changed from the the dark and obstinate loyalist. In the end, his pride and obstinacy stood in the way of its desperate efforts in the past half year to right itself, says John Gapper
Take this weekend off, Hank
Paulson has done his best to keep the dollar strong and financial confidence intact. The US Treasury secretary must now allow events to take their course, which will show that Fannie and Freddie were unique and the government has not lost its nerve, writes John Gapper
