Richard Lambert, Glenn Hubbard and Katie

Well, yes, and here we are at Friday again. As my receptionist points out: "Thank God for that." Sonnet and I attend last night's Columbia Business School Fall Gala at The Lanesborough. This year's honoree is Richard Lambert, the Director General of the Confederation of British Industrialists; Richard also edited the Financial Times Lex column in the 1970s, becoming financial editor in 1979 then moved to New York in '82 as the Bureau Chief, returning to the UK a year later as deputy editor. He was the editor of the Financial Times from 1991 and launched the US version of the newspaper. From 2003-'06 he was a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee and now the CBI. So his views on the world kinda timely. He gives us a blast of it too: "Britain's worst conditions since the monetary collapse of 1914;" "consumer debt levels disproportionate to income;" "deficits unsustainable" and so on and so forth. Blimey. He does give some hope noting a global coordinated response may prevent us from returning to the stone age. So we are happy about the G-20 meeting in Washington, D.C. this week end to discuss the prospects for a global coordinated regulation (I think (hope?) el Presidente will serve the coffee and croissants). The gala attracts 120 alum+Dean Glenn Hubbard who I swap thoughts re the elections - Glenn is an arch conservative and was on the short-list to run the Federal Reserve post-Greenspan. Obama was, ahem, probably not his first choice. Still Glenn is gracious and positive as ever while we also discuss the MBA prospects - it may be a tough jobs market but applications are up 40% this year. Surprise, surprise - where do you go if your out of work? Business school! FYI I jump started the Columbia Business School club in '01 and am quite happy to no longer be responsible for it.

"I don't see it as women needing help - I see it as public debate needing women. Half of the smartest minds in our nation our female."
Katie in The Huffington Poste