If this financial crisis has engendered any wonderment about the history of Wall Street connivers and charlatans, do yourself a favour and seek out Steve Fraser's shimmering Wall Street: A Cultural History. While books such as Liar's Poker, The Bonfire of the Vanities and American Psycho bitingly document the shenanigans of some of the street's most avaricious villains and most epic busts, Mr Fraser's book is valuable because it adds continuity to the equation, tracing the growth of America's financial system from its origins amid the hubbub of 17th-century New York's mercantile community. Fraser delivers context in spades. As he charts the rise and fall of Wall Street characters in the global psyche - alongside the reputation of the street itself - it gradually becomes clear that this crisis can hardly be classed with blow-ups like the Panic of 1857, during which more than 1,000 banks closed, or the crash of 1873, which touched off a six-year depression. If you think this one is the big one, you could be right. As you'll learn from Wall Street, though, we're not there yet.
What makes Mr Fraser's effort especially appealing over and above the context it provides is its focus on financial culture. The street, he brilliantly argues, has occupied a shifting and ambiguous place in the moral calculus of investors and market-watchers over the years. Seen as both a channel for greed and as the hammering heart of American capitalist enterprise, it has perennially defied final verdicts. It's either a den of thieves like Bernie Madoff or a hothouse of titans like J.P. Morgan. Which is right depends largely on whom and when you ask.
Mr Fraser wrote his book well before the global credit crunch hit two years ago, but it's a far more gripping read right now than when it came out in 2005. You'll be comforted to discover that this time around it's not quite as bad as it was in on Black Friday in 1869 or the 1907 panic. Yet you'll also leave the book with a discomfiting sense that financial history has a dizzying knack for repeating itself.
Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2005
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
THE BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Whenever I have any free time I always go back to see my family in Caltra, Galway, it’s the only place I can properly relax.
Favourite film: The Way, starring Martin Sheen. It’s about the Camino de Santiago walk from France to Spain.
Personal motto: If something’s meant for you it won’t pass you by.
