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Oct 2020

22m 9s

Direct lending rush

Financial Times

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The financial crash that created Britain’s first prime minister

When the South Sea Bubble burst in 1720, it wiped out fortunes and plunged Britain into its first great stock market crisis. The collapse of the South Sea Company, a government-backed scheme that promised to turn national debt into riches, left the country's finances in disarray ... Show More

South Sea Bubble: the shoemaker’s son who sparked Britain’s first financial crisis

In 1720, the South Sea Company was one of the most valuable businesses in Britain until a spectacular collapse in its publicly traded shares triggered the country’s first major stock market crisis. At the centre of the story was John Blunt, a shoemaker’s son who rose through the ... Show More

The 1980s Garfield buyout that changed corporate finance

William E Simon was a bond trader-turned US cabinet secretary under President Richard Nixon. He was also abrasive, polarising and the “father of private equity”, according to Hettie O’Brien, author of The Asset Class: How Private Equity Turned Capitalism Against Itself. She tells ... Show More

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