The Best Business Writing 2012

Launched at a time of major economic change and an uncommon era in business, this new annual series presents the most intriguing and rigorous coverage of the year's well-known and crucial-to-know developments in business and finance. Divided into thematic sections, such as bad business behavior; the financial system and its discontents; trends in global markets; the relationship between politics and money; big-picture practices; and news from the corporate world, the anthology fills a longstanding gap for those seeking diverse, enriching, yet entertaining perspectives on the business of business.

This year's selections include Rolling Stone's profile of Don Blankenship and his corrupt tenure as CEO of Massey Energy; the London Guardian's original, unprecedented investigation into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal and its indictment of the Rupert Murdoch media empire; and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's poignant account of the fatal consequences of federal deregulation in health and medicine. Two searing pieces on the ongoing mortgage scandal, one a hard look at the role of hedge fund Magnetar in perpetuating the housing bubble for financial gain, and the other a detailed breakdown of Countrywide's malfeasance, provide critical context and background; while articles on recoveries in Ireland, Germany, and elsewhere suggest a way foreword from recession. Additional articles tackle bank fees and bailouts, the Buffet Rule, the corporate lobby's reach, the Greenspan legacy, the rise of a global business elite, the future of the American auto industry, and the meaning of recent shakeups at Pfizer, Gucci, IKEA, and other corporate institutions.