Red Metal: A Novel

In 2005, hedge-fund manager David Brown of Galileo Capital spots a rare opportunity. China’s voracious appetite for copper is flooding Red Metal Corporation with cash, and Red Metal CEO Jeff Fowler appears hell-bent on leaving most of it in the bank. Fowler knows the boom-and-bust cycles of the copper-mining business, and he plans to hoard cash to make it through the next downturn. After buying up a big chunk of Red Metal stock, Brown gives Fowler an ultimatum: Make smart investments with the money, or return it to shareholders. If you don’t, Galileo will find someone to acquire Red Metal, and you’ll go down as the CEO who let a 130-year-old company fade into oblivion. Will Fowler escape Brown, walk into Brown’s traps, or get spooked into making foolish moves that bring his world crashing down around him?

Peter Faur worked in St. Louis as a reporter and editor before making the transition to public relations in the early 1980s. His employers and clients have included corporate leaders in telecommunications, brewing, chemical manufacturing and copper mining. He holds master's degrees in journalism and business administration. Today he and his wife, Pat, live in Phoenix.