Naked Capitalism is a liberal American financial news and analysis groupblog.[1][2] Susan Webber, the principal of Aurora Advisors Incorporated, a management-consulting firm based in New York City, launched the site in late 2006, using thepen name Yves Smith.[3] She focused on finance and economic news and analysis, with an emphasis onlegal andethical issues of thebanking industry and theforeclosure process, the2008 financial crisis, theGreat Recession, and its aftermath. Since 2020, the site has also provided a special, continuing coverage of theCOVID-19 pandemic. The site became one of the most highly frequented financial blogs on the Internet,[4] and has published a number of notedexposés since.
Webber started the Naked Capitalism blog because she saw a reporting gap in 2006, just before the2008 financial crisis – there was a lot of anxiety among seasoned observers, yet the US press featured "all this cheerleading [of the financial industry] and there was a lack of any skepticism [...] How could anyone in the market not see what was going on? That we were going to have some sort of train wreck?"[7]
Naked Capitalism became widely read during the2008 financial crisis as people were trying to come to grips with what was happening.[3][6] This led to TV appearances for Smith on stations such asCNBC,CNN,Fox News andPBS, and she was approached to writea book on the crisis.[6][27]
In a 2010 piece critiquing theWall Street Journal's coverage of the foreclosure scandal, theColumbia Journalism Review noted that theWall Street Journal was being "outclassed" by Naked Capitalism.[28] In 2011,TIME included Naked Capitalism among "The 25 Best Financial Blogs", saying that Smith had been well ahead of the curve in understanding the2008 financial crisis.[29] Stephen Gandel, reviewing Naked Capitalism forTIME, said that "At times, Naked Capitalism's accusations against Wall Street can be hard to prove. But the blog's sense of right and wrong rings true to me."[29]
In 2011,CNBC listed the site as one of the "20 Most Influential Finance Blogs", describing Smith as "a harsh critic of Wall Street who believes that fraud was at the center of the financial crisis."[30] In 2013,Wired included the blog among its "favorite sources of news covering the world of business and finance", saying Smith offered a "piercing look at the ethical and legal missteps of the global financial industry."[31]
Documentary filmmakerAlex Gibney toldThe New York Times that the "blog gives you a very unvarnished look at the political economy. You find out things that don't show up in the news until weeks later."[32]The New York Times financial reporterGretchen Morgenson cited Naked Capitalism in 2014 as one of the "must-read financial blogs" she visited regularly.[33]
In 2014, Naked Capitalism obtained and published twelve Limited Partnership Agreements (LPA) – agreements between private equity firms and their portfolio companies that are termed trade secrets, an area theSEC's Special Inspector Andrew J. Bowden had promised to look into.[34] In 2015, Naked Capitalism drew attention to comments Bowden had recently made at aStanford Law School conference that many observers felt were inappropriate and a sign of "regulatory capture" – a regulator becoming too friendly with an industry their profession requires them to regulate.[35][36][37] Bowden stepped down shortly after.[38]
In 2018, a Naked Capitalism article highlighting discrepancies in the work résumé of the Chief Financial Officer of the $410 billion[39]California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) was followed by the executive's departure.[40][41] In 2020, a Naked Capitalism blog post pointing out disclosure discrepancies toppled the same organization's chief investment officer.[39][42] Naked Capitalism said the officer had personally invested in some of the same private equity groups CalPERS had invested in, creating a conflict of interest.[39][43]
