Le risque: How the rioting in France might trigger a ‘blow up’ in the bond market

On Sept. 9, the six-member board of Automattic—the company that owns WordPress, Tumblr, and other web-based apps—voted to put its CEO, Matt Mullenweg, on leave. The move seemingly came out of the blue: Mullenweg had just returned from his annual trip to Burning Man, and the board was made up largely of directors who had mentored Mullenweg for years. And then, 33 hours later, Mullenweg was back in control, and the three directors who tried to sideline him were gone, along with the company’s CFO and its chief legal officer. A remarkable level of secrecy surrounded the drama. None of the board members have publicly explained why they suddenly wanted him out of the company. Mullenweg has declined to describe why he was all…