Watching an industry with few publicly held companies can be frustrating, particularly for someone whose job title has twice been statistics editor. So the occasional incident, transaction, lawsuit or research victory that calls forth a normally unpublished number is to be treasured. One quirky case is the size of Alter Trading Co., St. Louis. Robert Goldstein, chairman and chief executive officer, stood firm against mentioning any financials in a profile that appeared last year. A journalist tried to surmise Alter Trading's revenue, offering 580 million dollars as a minimum figure. Goldstein's e-mail reply curtly refusing the bait included an exclamation point.
展开▼
