February 9, 2010
Filed under: Investing — @ 3:00 am
It’s hard to believe the CIT Group appointed John Thain as their CEO. Then again, they’re emerging from bankruptcy after screwing the last set of investors so the Board of Directors has proven their inability to direct. This is big problem with boards. They assume someone who has held a CEO post before must have the necessary skills to do it again regardless the prior outcomes. I think it’s more a cover-your-ass mentality. Thain’s only contribution at Merrill Lynch was a million dollar office redecoration as the company spiraled into near bankruptcy. Just the skill his new company needs.
We can’t get the change at the top
‘Cause the board is all from the same crop.
They fear the unknown
So stick with their own.
It’s more like a cozy wife swap.
February 2, 2010
Filed under: Investing — @ 3:00 am
Toyota’s really taking on the chin with this massive recall due to faulty gas pedals. At least they were smart enough to stop selling any more cars. I can’t imagine the number of lawsuits that await them, not to mention the blow to their image as a quality car maker. The good news is I don’t hear any excuses. They admitted to the problem, stopped production and sales and are committed to making the fix. When Ford and Firestone faced a recall in 2000 it took the government to identify the problem and force the issue. That’s why people will still buy Toyota’s instead of Fords.
The stock of Toyota is taking
A beating ’cause pedals are breaking
Apart, as opposed
To stopping and those
Who own them are feeling some aching.
January 20, 2010
Filed under: Investing — @ 3:00 am
I keep telling you, China is the enemy to worry about…not some Islamic terrorist. They have the ability to seriously disrupt the fabric of our economy. Fortunately, it will disrupt theirs as well. It’s the capitalist equivalent of the nuclear standoff. Google is threatening to leave but I doubt they will. “Money talks and bullshit walks”. In a large corporation, human rights and censorship are bullshit if you show ‘em the money.
In China there’s no way to appease
Their leaders who do what they please.
Will their spying and hacking
Send Google packing
Or just get them down on their knees.
January 5, 2010
Filed under: Investing — @ 3:00 am
I don’t understand all the fuss about ’strategic defaults’ as homeowners walk away from mortgages that are 1000’s of dollars over the properties value. It’s just good business and exactly what smart companies do. There is no “moral obligation” to pay back a secured loan.The house is pledged as collateral for the loan. If it is returned to the lender in lieu of payment and does not cover the cost of the loan, then the lender made a mistake and will take a loss. Business 101.
A strategic default gets the ire
Of bankers who stepped in the mire.
The loan had been hedged
With collateral pledged.
If they need more they should have asked prior.
December 10, 2009
Filed under: Investing — @ 3:00 am
AT&T is a victim of its own success. Some iphone customers are hogging bandwidth and slowing down the network. It’s not all that surprising given the constant stream of new apps and a fixed monthly price for data. Their initial effort to fix this problem is to ‘educate’ the users on bandwidth usage. Good luck with that or, as one person wrote “how can users be blamed for being “data hogs” when the offer is all-you-can-eat”?
AT&T has a problem with hogs
As its service is going to the dogs.
Heads will drop lower
As response times get slower
Until users are left ’sawing logs’.
December 7, 2009
Filed under: Investing — @ 3:00 am
Dell is having some laptop quality problems (I’ve heard that before) that they refuse to admit (I’ve heard that before too!). Their response is to try and squelch all negative information. This never works thanks to the Internet but it’s a typical response from a large company that is losing market share and doesn’t seem to know what to do. Not to worry. There are plenty of new, nimble competitors to fill in the gaps. It’s the free market version of ‘natural selection’ at work.
If some laptops from Dell run slo-mo
It’s a problem they know but forgo
Acknowledgement or fix.
Their PR type tricks
Are the same ol’ hot air that they blow.
November 23, 2009
Filed under: Investing — @ 3:00 am
Goldman continues to astound with their arrogance. Between doing “God’s work” and feeble apologies for their role in the current mess, it’s all just more cheap talk as they continue to speculate with cheap tax-payer subsidized loans (TALF). It will take someone with a lot of courage and political muscle to take them on. Unfortunately, courage and politics are mutually exclusive.
Seems Goldman has a deal with the Lord,
His permission to build up their horde.
They’re skimming the cream
While knowing it means
Someone else has to fall on the sword.
October 1, 2009
Filed under: Investing — @ 3:00 am
The CEO of Hertz is a real piece of work. He’s suing Audit Integrity Inc. for saying negative things about the company that have already been disclosed in reports to the SEC. This guys only concerned about the price of his options. If there is any material information about the company that is negative, he is the last person you’ll hear it from. I guess stockholders aren’t allow to read any opinions that haven’t been ‘blessed’ by the company spinmeisters.
CEO’s don’t worry a lot,
When it starts to look bad for their stock.
If the boat starts to tip
And they have to jump ship,
They land in a luxury yacht.
September 17, 2009
Filed under: Events, Investing — @ 10:00 am
Looks like Steve Jobs is back and finally admitting he had a liver transplant. I’m not sure they handled that properly but most of those concerns have been muted by the rising stock. If he takes my new product advice and moves into health care, the sky’s the limit!
Steve Jobs has been known to deliver
The products that make us all quiver.
Though the iPod and iPhone
Are nothing to moan,
I can’t wait for the new iLiver.
