LBO/Subprime: The day of reckoning

When will the day of reckoning arrive for the buyout bonanza? Carlyle boss Bill Conway speculates that terrorism, rising oil prices, trade protectionism, rising labour costs in China and India, central bank tightening or even a multi-billion bankruptcy could cause global liquidity to dry up. There’s nothing surprising about this list. But something’s missing. The debacle in the US mortgage market is another potential trigger that could end private equity’s party. Not long ago, just about anyone...