Craig Coben
@thekrazykobra.bsky.social
Retired investment banker. Fulham FC fan. 2 Legit 2 Quit. “Allergic to the counterfeit, impartial to the politics”
https://www.ft.com/craig-coben
https://www.globalcapital.com/author/craig-coben
https://www.ft.com/craig-coben
https://www.globalcapital.com/author/craig-coben
Reposted by Craig Coben
another nice piece on MSTR from @thekrazykobra.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 1:29 PM
another nice piece on MSTR from @thekrazykobra.bsky.social
My take on the largest London IPO since 2021 — the flotation of Princes Group. Free to read at @alphaville.ft.com : www.ft.com/content/4141...
November 3, 2025 at 4:03 PM
My take on the largest London IPO since 2021 — the flotation of Princes Group. Free to read at @alphaville.ft.com : www.ft.com/content/4141...
Saylor’s Strategy (née MicroStrategy) is hailing a “historic” credit rating from S&P.
It’s B-minus — deep in junk.
My latest for @alphaville.ft.com on a “bitcoin treasury company” craving TradFi approval while its stock badly trails the asset it worships. $MSTR
www.ft.com/content/f087...
It’s B-minus — deep in junk.
My latest for @alphaville.ft.com on a “bitcoin treasury company” craving TradFi approval while its stock badly trails the asset it worships. $MSTR
www.ft.com/content/f087...
October 31, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Saylor’s Strategy (née MicroStrategy) is hailing a “historic” credit rating from S&P.
It’s B-minus — deep in junk.
My latest for @alphaville.ft.com on a “bitcoin treasury company” craving TradFi approval while its stock badly trails the asset it worships. $MSTR
www.ft.com/content/f087...
It’s B-minus — deep in junk.
My latest for @alphaville.ft.com on a “bitcoin treasury company” craving TradFi approval while its stock badly trails the asset it worships. $MSTR
www.ft.com/content/f087...
Reposted by Craig Coben
Revenge against the banking nerds is near - @thekrazykobra.bsky.social's column on AI replacing a lot of the modelling grunt work is drawing a lot of debate... www.ft.com/content/0b7f...
October 29, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Revenge against the banking nerds is near - @thekrazykobra.bsky.social's column on AI replacing a lot of the modelling grunt work is drawing a lot of debate... www.ft.com/content/0b7f...
Column I wrote today in @financialtimes.com about OpenAI hiring over a hundred investment bankers under “Project Mercury” to program AI to build financial models and automate junior banker grunt work.
on.ft.com/4ohgEu3
on.ft.com/4ohgEu3
Revenge against the banking nerds is near
With progress in AI, the showhorses may yet eclipse the more technically skilled workhorses
on.ft.com
October 29, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Column I wrote today in @financialtimes.com about OpenAI hiring over a hundred investment bankers under “Project Mercury” to program AI to build financial models and automate junior banker grunt work.
on.ft.com/4ohgEu3
on.ft.com/4ohgEu3
Article I published today in @financialtimes.com on reunion I attended last month for my old investment bank. www.ft.com/content/5504...
October 20, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Article I published today in @financialtimes.com on reunion I attended last month for my old investment bank. www.ft.com/content/5504...
I’m mentioned briefly in this Daily Telegraph article on my brother Harlan!
Paywalled: www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2025/10/1...
Archived version: archive.is/ImXPa
Paywalled: www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2025/10/1...
Archived version: archive.is/ImXPa
October 19, 2025 at 12:23 AM
I’m mentioned briefly in this Daily Telegraph article on my brother Harlan!
Paywalled: www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2025/10/1...
Archived version: archive.is/ImXPa
Paywalled: www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2025/10/1...
Archived version: archive.is/ImXPa
(Micro)Strategy raised $128 million last week but only bought $22 million of bitcoin. What’s going on? My take and what it says about $MSTR business model
September 29, 2025 at 10:18 PM
(Micro)Strategy raised $128 million last week but only bought $22 million of bitcoin. What’s going on? My take and what it says about $MSTR business model
Robert De Niro in “Heat” had a rule: be ready to walk away in 30 seconds. Is that the ultimate career goal?
I wrote in today’s @financialtimes.com on the trade-offs of a "portfolio career" vs. a singular role. It's not all freedom and laptops on the beach.
I wrote in today’s @financialtimes.com on the trade-offs of a "portfolio career" vs. a singular role. It's not all freedom and laptops on the beach.
Career variety can be fulfilling — but don’t let it get too spicy on.ft.com/48sWTKO | opinion
Career variety can be fulfilling — but don’t let it get too spicy
A portfolio working life can offer freedom and purpose if you can stomach the trade-offs
on.ft.com
September 22, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Robert De Niro in “Heat” had a rule: be ready to walk away in 30 seconds. Is that the ultimate career goal?
I wrote in today’s @financialtimes.com on the trade-offs of a "portfolio career" vs. a singular role. It's not all freedom and laptops on the beach.
I wrote in today’s @financialtimes.com on the trade-offs of a "portfolio career" vs. a singular role. It's not all freedom and laptops on the beach.
Reposted by Craig Coben
The jury is still out on S&P’s rejection of Strategy - column here @thekrazykobra.bsky.social here on the bitcoin investor that is now one of the largest companies outside the S&P 500 with a market cap of $93bn www.ft.com/content/57c4...
The jury is still out on S&P’s rejection of Strategy
Beyond its small software division, the company’s entire model relies on constantly selling new shares
www.ft.com
September 12, 2025 at 6:16 AM
The jury is still out on S&P’s rejection of Strategy - column here @thekrazykobra.bsky.social here on the bitcoin investor that is now one of the largest companies outside the S&P 500 with a market cap of $93bn www.ft.com/content/57c4...
The S&P 500 just left Strategy (fka MicroStrategy) outside the index after most recent rebalancing. My latest for the @financialtimes.com on why it wasn't invited: it acts like a bitcoin fund, not an operating company. The rejection is a blow to its business model. www.ft.com/content/57c4...
September 12, 2025 at 6:01 AM
The S&P 500 just left Strategy (fka MicroStrategy) outside the index after most recent rebalancing. My latest for the @financialtimes.com on why it wasn't invited: it acts like a bitcoin fund, not an operating company. The rejection is a blow to its business model. www.ft.com/content/57c4...
Reposted by Craig Coben
"The previously successful treasury strategy seems now to be preventing stockholders from fully participating in the very bitcoin rally they are funding."
on.ft.com/3JR070i
on.ft.com/3JR070i
Strategy’s sagging bitcoin strategy
[FREE TO READ] Ahoi Saylor
on.ft.com
August 27, 2025 at 2:35 PM
"The previously successful treasury strategy seems now to be preventing stockholders from fully participating in the very bitcoin rally they are funding."
on.ft.com/3JR070i
on.ft.com/3JR070i
“The previously successful treasury strategy seems now to be preventing stockholders from fully participating in the very bitcoin rally they are funding. In fact, the rush of stock sales by Strategy insiders in November 2024 appears to have been well-timed.” My take in @alphaville.ft.com
August 27, 2025 at 1:58 PM
“The previously successful treasury strategy seems now to be preventing stockholders from fully participating in the very bitcoin rally they are funding. In fact, the rush of stock sales by Strategy insiders in November 2024 appears to have been well-timed.” My take in @alphaville.ft.com
Reposted by Craig Coben
Reuniting the old crew at a new bank is tough on.ft.com/4lJVUsG | opinion
Reuniting the old crew at a new bank is tough
Hiring star bankers and letting them bring their own posse has had mixed results
on.ft.com
August 22, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Reuniting the old crew at a new bank is tough on.ft.com/4lJVUsG | opinion
Reposted by Craig Coben
Reuniting the old crew at a new bank is tough - @thekrazykobra.bsky.social here on Citi’s hiring spree and why such move rarely deliver sustainable gains. A great look at what goes on inside a bank - and it cites The Blues Brothers www.ft.com/content/0719...
Reuniting the old crew at a new bank is tough
Hiring star bankers and letting them bring their own posse has had mixed results
www.ft.com
August 22, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Reuniting the old crew at a new bank is tough - @thekrazykobra.bsky.social here on Citi’s hiring spree and why such move rarely deliver sustainable gains. A great look at what goes on inside a bank - and it cites The Blues Brothers www.ft.com/content/0719...
In this “On Wall Street” column in @financialtimes.com, I look at Citigroup’s bid to “get the band back together” under Viswas Raghavan — and why star hires alone rarely change an investment bank’s trajectory. www.ft.com/content/0719...
August 22, 2025 at 6:19 PM
In this “On Wall Street” column in @financialtimes.com, I look at Citigroup’s bid to “get the band back together” under Viswas Raghavan — and why star hires alone rarely change an investment bank’s trajectory. www.ft.com/content/0719...
Ex-bankers often think angel investing is the natural next step. It can be stimulating, but it’s no road to quick riches. My column in the @financialtimes.com on the seductions & realities of backing start-ups
Being an angel is tougher than it looks on.ft.com/4oGYG4K | opinion
Being an angel is tougher than it looks
Former financiers might assume a knack for picking winners, but investing alone requires a different set of capabilities
on.ft.com
August 18, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Ex-bankers often think angel investing is the natural next step. It can be stimulating, but it’s no road to quick riches. My column in the @financialtimes.com on the seductions & realities of backing start-ups
Figma’s IPO soared 250% — cue outrage. $3bn left on the table? A rigged game? Not so fast. In @alphaville.ft.com, I argue that the “broken” IPO process may just be the least-worst option. $FIG
Free to read: www.ft.com/content/9fa9...
Free to read: www.ft.com/content/9fa9...
August 4, 2025 at 6:16 AM
Figma’s IPO soared 250% — cue outrage. $3bn left on the table? A rigged game? Not so fast. In @alphaville.ft.com, I argue that the “broken” IPO process may just be the least-worst option. $FIG
Free to read: www.ft.com/content/9fa9...
Free to read: www.ft.com/content/9fa9...
Interviewed in Die Welt newspaper about financial markets, investment banking, and leadership. When I was asked who was my role model leader in Europe, I was unequivocal: Marco Silva, the Portuguese manager of Fulham FC www.welt.de/wirtschaft/p...
August 1, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Interviewed in Die Welt newspaper about financial markets, investment banking, and leadership. When I was asked who was my role model leader in Europe, I was unequivocal: Marco Silva, the Portuguese manager of Fulham FC www.welt.de/wirtschaft/p...
Reposted by Craig Coben
Why giving up finance to go back to school can fail https://on.ft.com/4fj0Hjm | opinion
Why giving up finance to go back to school can fail
Trading the conference room for seminars may be tempting but won’t provide a second youth in retirement
on.ft.com
July 28, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Why giving up finance to go back to school can fail https://on.ft.com/4fj0Hjm | opinion
Many late-career pros return to university to seek intellectual nirvana and campus highs, only to find the transition much harder than expected. My “After the Bell” column in @financialtimes.com : www.ft.com/content/3762...
July 28, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Many late-career pros return to university to seek intellectual nirvana and campus highs, only to find the transition much harder than expected. My “After the Bell” column in @financialtimes.com : www.ft.com/content/3762...
Strategy shows capital stack as a literal pyramid in investor slides for new “Stretch” preferred stock issue.
Freudian slip or taunt at critics?
Stock down 10% from November peak despite BTC up 25% and MSTR owning another 210k BTC.
My thoughts @alphaville.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/b4ce...
Freudian slip or taunt at critics?
Stock down 10% from November peak despite BTC up 25% and MSTR owning another 210k BTC.
My thoughts @alphaville.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/b4ce...
Strategy stretches for more cash
Michael Saylor is building a pharaonic edifice of financial engineering. Does his latest fundraise give a clue to the endgame?
www.ft.com
July 24, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Strategy shows capital stack as a literal pyramid in investor slides for new “Stretch” preferred stock issue.
Freudian slip or taunt at critics?
Stock down 10% from November peak despite BTC up 25% and MSTR owning another 210k BTC.
My thoughts @alphaville.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/b4ce...
Freudian slip or taunt at critics?
Stock down 10% from November peak despite BTC up 25% and MSTR owning another 210k BTC.
My thoughts @alphaville.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/b4ce...
Reposted by Craig Coben
Opinion: Markets have rebounded. But dealmaking revenue hasn’t. If the gap doesn’t close soon, investment banking risks becoming less of an industry crown jewel and more of a sideshow. https://on.ft.com/45bGhFm
July 18, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Opinion: Markets have rebounded. But dealmaking revenue hasn’t. If the gap doesn’t close soon, investment banking risks becoming less of an industry crown jewel and more of a sideshow. https://on.ft.com/45bGhFm
Reposted by Craig Coben
Is investment banking still a jewel in Wall Street’s crown? https://on.ft.com/44UQCnI | opinion
Is investment banking still a jewel in Wall Street’s crown?
The once-glamorous business may be losing strategic relevance
on.ft.com
July 18, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Is investment banking still a jewel in Wall Street’s crown? https://on.ft.com/44UQCnI | opinion
Wall Street avoided a Q2 bloodbath, but dealmaking remains strangely sluggish. Is investment banking losing its strategic relevance? My opinion column in this weekend’s @financialtimes.com, available at your local news agent or online
www.ft.com/content/4977...
www.ft.com/content/4977...
Is investment banking still a jewel in Wall Street’s crown?
The once-glamorous business may be losing strategic relevance
www.ft.com
July 18, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Wall Street avoided a Q2 bloodbath, but dealmaking remains strangely sluggish. Is investment banking losing its strategic relevance? My opinion column in this weekend’s @financialtimes.com, available at your local news agent or online
www.ft.com/content/4977...
www.ft.com/content/4977...