Cool Limerick Poems » Investing

Big Business Whining

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:00:33 +0000

Steve Forbes thinks the Obama administration is anti-business. I prefer to think of it as pro-constituent. Big business, when left to their own devices, drives greed to excess. They describe it as ’shareholder value’ but shareholders always seem to get the short end of the stick. When the stock goes down, management still gets paid..with generous bonuses I might add. What Mr. Forbes fails to realize is that business leaders have lost a good measure of credibility over the past several years. Thus, their complaints about ‘anti-business’ policies mostly land on deaf ears.

Steve Forbes has a view of the past
Where too many villains are cast
In business at large,
But they earned the charge
With avarice and greed unsurpassed.

Ben Spooks the Market

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:00:48 +0000

I always hate when Ben Bernanke talks to Congress. Too many ignorant Congressmen asking too many self-serving questions and before you know it, Ben’s says something slightly negative and investors all swoon. It’s like sheep leading other sheep right over the edge. Instead, we should act like cows and keep chewing until someone knocks us over. I have no idea what that means.

Bernanke gave Congress a talk
About the Fed and protecting the flock
But investors instead,
Overcome with dread,
Sent the stock market down like a rock.

Is Tesla The New Delorean?

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:00:52 +0000

The new electric car maker Tesla went public today on the Nasdaq stock exchange. It’s stock rose 40% on the first day. They’re going to need all the help they can get. Their electric cars sell for $80,000 with a paltry number of dealers that can repair them. With all the hybrids on the market, I fail to see how they can gain any significant traction in a super competitive car market. Anyone remember the Delorean?

The IPO (i-po) for Tesla went well
After ringing the opening bell.
Though profits aren’t there
Stockholders don’t care
They’re betting this new car will sell.

DeLorean

Tesla Roadster

FOMC or the World Cup

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 10:00:22 +0000

The FOMC decided today to keep interest rates steady. No big surprise given the headwinds to growth (e.g. Europe) and the lack of new jobs. We seem to be in a holding pattern waiting for the next ray of sunshine or the other shoe to drop. So let’s all stop agonizing about a future we can’t see anyway and celebrate the big win for the U.S. Soccer team!

Seems keeping rates low is just fine
As Bernanke today did opine.
With growth that’s still slow
And jobs a no-show
The fear is we wither on the vine.

In the World Cup the U.S. won big
And left us all dancing a jig.
They made us all sweat
Before finding the net,
Now we’re off to the knockout round gig.

Landon Donovan

Stock Market Trend Turning?

Thu, 06 May 2010 10:00:46 +0000

The Stock Market’s been taking a beating the past couple of days. I guess with oil spills, floods, terrorists and financial contagion…it was too much to bear. It always seems to claw its way higher day after day only to give most of it back over a few days of selling. It just proves the old adage…all new highs are bullish until the last one.

The trend is your friend ’till the end
And often it’s straining to send,
A message that’s clear
“Get out of here!”
The only part missing is ‘when’.

Continental to Sink With United

Tue, 04 May 2010 10:00:59 +0000

Here we go again with an airline merger. This time between United and Continental. It’s the old shell game of taking two money losing enterprises and combining them into an even bigger money losing enterprise. United is the poster boy for incompetent management. The only saving grace is the Continental guy will run the new company. Still, the track record for these mergers is abysmal. The winners will be the investment bankers and senior management. The losers will be employees, customers and stockholders. Sound familiar?

This merger of airlines will try
Combining the two to apply,
More management brains
To flying the planes
But it’s all just more pie in the sky.

Buffet Needs a Bailout?

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 10:00:46 +0000

This article shows how nothing has changed. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb) voted against the Financial Reform bill because it might cause a big financial hit to Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Who says you can’t buy politicians? He’s just another greedy capitalist using our representative government to achieve his own ends. The ‘Oracle of Omaha’ is no saint.

You might think that the big guys would tough it
But instead their response is to stuff it.
Despite what he’ll make
On his large Goldman stake,
We now need a bailout for Buffet.

SEC Takes on Goldman Sachs

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:00:29 +0000

Goldman Sachs is on the hot seat! Fraud charges open the door for every other customer or government who lost money to pile on with lawsuits and investigations of their own. The charges are not surprising as many (including myself) have harbored suspicions about their ‘extraordinary’ ability to profit when everyone else was losing money. This is just the beginning of a long hard fight that will probably take years to play out. Regardless the outcome, the ’shine’ is off this pot of gold.

The charges of fraud will now nettle
At Goldman and test out their mettle.
Despite their allies
And insider ties,
They’ll find there’s no lid for this kettle.

Who Would EVER Trust Goldman Sachs?

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:00:18 +0000

Finally we hear from a customer who did not trust Goldman Sachs. Washington Mutual (WaMu) had concerns about asking for their advice on subprime mortgages. The WaMu CEO described it as “swimming with the sharks”. They could be singing your praises at a meeting and selling you short back at the office. If I was a banker, I wouldn’t trust Goldman Sachs to walk my dog.

When Wamu was sinking in debt
The thought to use Goldman was met
With vexing suspicion
Because their position
On both sides was seen as a bet.

Thain Has a New Office to Decorate

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:00:56 +0000

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.