02/27/08
Let the record show that one of the last official acts of Countrywide Financial before its takeover by Bank of America was to come this close to holding a lavish shindig near Vail:
Countrywide Financial,
the besieged mortgage lender, has canceled a gathering of bankers from
smaller mortgage banks at the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch ski resort
(where room rates begin at $725), Countrywide said in a statement on
Sunday.The company was to pay for 30 invited guests’ hotel rooms, meals, skiing and tips.
In
the statement, the company said that “in light of recent events” it had
decided to cancel all gatherings with business partners and clients for
the rest of the year…
The decision was made Sunday and the company cites "recent events?" How recent? I mean, did I miss some horrible news about Countrywide since the BofA takeover announcement? Oh, wait a minute, I'm reading further down in the story:
The three-night gathering, which was to include business meetings as
well as skiing, drinking and sampling expensive meals like $140 caviar
and Kurobuta pork osso bucco at the Spago restaurant, had already drawn
negative press. “Let ’Em Eat Kobe Steak,” a headline in The New York
Post sneered on Saturday.
Bad publicity. There's your "recent events" for you.
Dave Gonigam
Treading a fine line between contrarian thinking and conspiracy theory, Dave Gonigam explores the nexus of finance, politics, and the media for Agora Financial's 5 Minute Forecast. He joined kindred spirits at Agora Financial in 2007 after a 20-year career as an Emmy award-winning writer, producer, and manager in local TV newsrooms nationwide.
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