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THE LATEST ARTICLES
William D. Cohan
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May 17, 2026
All the Light We Cannot S.E.C.
Trump’s S.E.C. is pushing to eradicate Wall Street’s quarterly reporting requirement—an idiotic proposal that his administration believes will “make I.P.O.s great again.” Let’s count all the ways this could backfire…
William D. Cohan
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May 13, 2026
Is Elon Already a Trillionaire?
If the inevitable and possibly imminent SpaceX I.P.O. debuts anywhere near its rumored valuation, investors will effectively ratify Musk as a sovereign financial ecosystem unto himself.
William D. Cohan
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May 11, 2026
East of Edens
Wes Edens, the billionaire entrepreneur and NBA owner, is attempting to restructure New Fortress Energy in London, where the courts are much friendlier to equity holders—the hot new trend for American companies, and a potential win for Edens, who is otherwise having a pretty bad week.
William D. Cohan
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May 6, 2026
GameStop of Thrones
Meme stock king Ryan Cohen is the laughingstock of Wall Street after launching an absurd bid to buy eBay for $56 billion—largely with cash and equity that GameStop doesn’t have. The market isn’t taking the proposal seriously, but the math itself is actually pretty interesting…
William D. Cohan
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May 3, 2026
S.B.F. Is Out of Options
This week, a thoroughly annoyed Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected, with prejudice, Sam Bankman-Fried’s long-shot bid for a new trial. That leaves his fate in the hands of the Second Circuit—which will almost certainly rule against him—or worse… in the hands of Donald Trump.
William D. Cohan
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April 29, 2026
Heavy Medallia
The highly levered software company is becoming a morality tale for this inflection point in the private-credit journey. How will Thoma Bravo, Blackstone, Apollo, KKR, and Antares Capital interpret this moment?
William D. Cohan
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April 26, 2026
S.B.F. Alternate Histories & Ellison “Ticking Fee” Fears
Even as he withdrew his latest plea, Sam Bankman-Fried has been pushing another argument in the court of public opinion: that if FTX hadn’t been forced into bankruptcy, his biggest investments would be worth some $114 billion by now. Plus, notes on Zaslav’s golden parachute—and how a state antitrust intervention could sweeten the deal.
William D. Cohan
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April 22, 2026
The Great Train Bankruptcy
A rare, privately owned U.S. rail line between Miami and Orlando is proving popular with riders, but a $6 billion debt pile is pushing Brightline and its hedge fund owners toward a likely restructuring reckoning.
William D. Cohan
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April 19, 2026
The Wall Street Iran Bounce
The economy is slowing and the Middle East is on fire, but the Big Five banks are printing record profits and stock markets keep hitting new highs. Is this the last song before the music stops, or were the bears wrong all along?
William D. Cohan
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April 15, 2026
Ackman Family Values
Amid his double-I.P.O. roadshow and latest attempt to buy Universal Music Group, Bill Ackman has gone public with a bizarre personal drama at Table, his family office—with the lofty goal of teaching other billionaires that it’s better to fight their legal battles on X than settle in the shadows.