Behind Richard Rainwater's fight for his life

• The numbers behind the Buffett Rule

  As powerful and provocative women (Gloria Steinem, Chelsea Handler, Rosie O'Donnell...) have been swarming Warren Buffett to boost his so-called Buffett Rule--his pitch to tax the super-rich at higher rates, in line with the middle class--a lot of ordinary people wonder: How much money would this amount to, and what good might it do for America?

  At the recent Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) chief executive laid MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Oct 20, 2011 10:11 AM ET
  Posted in: finance, FORTUNE Most Powerful Women Summit, Most Powerful Women, Postcards, Wall Street, Warren Buffett

• Five lessons from the Bartz and Krawcheck firings

  It was a double hit to Fortune's Most Powerful Women list last Tuesday when Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Carol Bartz and Bank of America's (BAC) Sallie Krawcheck got fired.

  Bartz,  No. 10 in our 2010 MPW rankings, went out with a bang--as my explosive interview with her, F-bombs included, shows. Meanwhile, Krawcheck, BofA's global wealth management chief and No. 24 on our list, exited without a sound.

  I know both women well, and it's worth observing that MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Sep 12, 2011 9:26 AM ET
  Posted in: Bank of America, banks, Brian Moynihan, Carol Bartz, finance, Fortune Most Powerful Women, FORTUNE MPWomen, Leadership by Geoff Colvin, management, media, Merrill Lynch, Most Powerful Women, Postcards, Sallie Krawcheck, Silicon Valley, technology, Yahoo

• Girls may fear money, but powerful women don't

  by Patricia Sellers

  On Monday we asked, "Are girls afraid of money?"

  America (and beyond) voted and...I don't know what to conclude except I know that the question stirred the pot.

  In the heated debate that ensued, I particularly appreciated the viewpoint of Matt in Springfield, VA, who said he wasn't surprised by the results of the experiment in which five $20 bills were placed randomly on classroom desks, and female college students MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Apr 22, 2011 3:35 PM ET
  Posted in: Anne Mulcahy, CEOs, Ellen Kullman, finance, FORTUNE MPWomen, Guest Post, Most Powerful Women, Postcards, Susan Sobbott, Ursula Burns

• How to get women to love money

  The debate rages on about women and money. After I published "Are women afraid of money?"--which stirred up this week's far-flung opinionated commentary--Susan Sobbott, president of American Express OPEN, emailed me her thoughts. Her note was so insightful that I asked her if I could run it as a Guest Post.

  Sobbott knows entrepreneurs. At American Express (AXP) since 1990, she has headed OPEN, the company's small-business card unit for seven MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Apr 21, 2011 10:49 AM ET
  Posted in: American Express, Entrepreneurs, finance, FORTUNE Most Powerful Women Summit, Guest Post, Most Powerful Women, MPWomen Entrepreneurs, Personal Power, Postcards, Susan Sobbott, Warren Buffett

• Erin Callan, Lehman's ex-CFO, goes public

  by Patricia Sellers

  Erin Callan is Wall Street's Greta Garbo.

  After Lehman Brothers (BCS) fired her as chief financial officer in June 2008 -- four months before the firm filed Chapter 11 -- Callan fled to her home in the Hamptons. She's been holed up in Long Island's affluent beach enclave for the past two years. Former colleagues and friends say she's incommunicado, and she's refused to speak to the press.

  Until today. MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Feb 22, 2011 2:13 PM ET
  Posted in: Dick Fuld, Erin Callan, finance, Lehman Brothers, Postcards, Wall Street

• Meredith Whitney on her 60 Minute warnings

  by Patricia Sellers

  Meredith Whitney dropped a big lump of coal on municipal bond investors' holiday.

  Sunday night, on 60 Minutes, the Wall Street analyst -- who warned early and famously in October 2007 that bank stocks would collapse, and soon they did -- blared her warning about the dire financial conditions of the U.S. states. Since her TV turn, Whitney told me this morning, she's been fielding lots of emails and MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Dec 21, 2010 11:45 AM ET
  Posted in: banks, finance, Meredith Whitney, Postcards

• How JPMorgan's Dimon conquers his critics

  by Patricia Sellers

  JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon is getting plenty of practice handling protesters lately. "Stop the loan sharks" read the T-shirts worn by some protesters hovering outside the company's annual meeting this morning.

  Dimon assuaged the shareholders--he predicted a rise in the dividend to 30-40% of earnings "later this year or early next year" if U.S. unemployment goes down and credit improves.

  The crowd was tougher, potentially, this past Sunday MORE

  Patricia Sellers - May 18, 2010 3:09 PM ET
  Posted in: banks, CEOs, finance, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase, Postcards

• Meredith Whitney takes on bank reform

  by Patricia Sellers

  Want to know what Meredith Whitney really thinks?

  Today in the Wall Street Journal, the notoriously bearish bank analyst takes a whack at the government's proposed regulatory reforms. Well-intended reform will likely do more harm than good, she suggests, by driving consumer credit out of the market and putting many community banks out of business.

  Whitney has been spreading her wings lately, flying around the U.S. to advise Federal Reserve MORE

  Patricia Sellers - May 17, 2010 3:17 PM ET
  Posted in: banks, finance, Meredith Whitney, Postcards, Washington

• Jamie Dimon's full disclosure

  by Patricia Sellers

  It's an important next couple of days for JPMorgan Chase (JPM).

  The company reports earnings tomorrow morning.

  And on Thursday morning, we'll see how far the $100 billion bank--yes, that's how big, in terms of annual revenues, JPMorgan has grown through the financial crisis--has surged up the Fortune 500.

  I know. But I can't tell you. Watch for the Fortune 500's release at 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

  So, it's a good moment to MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Apr 13, 2010 12:57 PM ET
  Posted in: banks, CEOs, finance, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase, Postcards, Wall Street