Top Turkeys of 2008

Fortune’s Allan Sloan gets out of the coop early with his list of turkeys for Thanksgiving. There’s no shortage of candidates. Top of his list: letting Lehman Brothers fail.

Letting Lehman Brothers go into bankruptcy in September is the turkey of the year, if not the decade, for the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department.

Other prime turkeys:

Yahoo spurns Microsoft: Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Jerry Yang gets the credit for this one, with an honorable mention to Carl Icahn, who bought into Yahoo on the assumption that he could get a deal done with Microsoft (MSFT). “By our estimate, he’s down more than $1 billion on his $1.8 billion Yahoo investment.”

SuperSIV: Last fall Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson announced a superfund in which banks would combine to buy securities from “structured investment vehicles” they had left off their balance sheets.

Amid a lack of interest, the superfund was canceled. Next came the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, which has now decided not to buy troubled assets. Hello?

Zell buys Tribune. “This $13 billion deal, which gave Sam Zell control of the nation’s second-biggest newspaper firm last year, has resulted in cuts this year that are disastrous for anyone who cares about having an informed public.”

Raiding the Times. “Philip Falcone’s Harbinger hedge fund gobbled up enough New York Times Co. (NYT) stock to scare the company into giving him two seats on its board. Alas for his investors, he’s down about 60 percent on a $512 million investment.”

There are plenty of other candidates: Merrill Lynch (MER)(yesterday’s price: $11.53) spending $5.27 billion in 2007 buying its own stock at an average of $84.88 per share. Or a group led by the normally sure-footed TPG buyout house (formerly Texas Pacific Group) putting $7 billion into Washington Mutual five months before regulators seized it and wiped out shareholders. Then there are Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) and American International Group (AIG).

We’re going to need a bigger coop.

Comments

[Crank Monkey:]

I nominate Greenspan and the model he rode in on.

2008 Nov 26 10:01 AM

[sheople:]

If we're making a "turkey" list, let's not forget Paulson and the Federal Reserve Bankers. They are enablers as far as Wall Street largess and working to "kill" the dollar's value. There is nothing like spending money when it's someone else's. Whee..........

2008 Nov 26 10:01 AM

[Liverdiefree:]

And what about congress for fluttering about like a flock of headless turkeys, understanding and caring about nothing but their own reelection and blindly rushing in to "emergency" action without a thought as to the actual consequences down the road? Seems to me all the other candidates are left in the dust by this clueless bunch. Our leaders. The country may survive but it won't prosper. This is far too much of a handicap to overcome - unless the rest of the world does even worse, which is not out of the question. Cheers.

2008 Nov 26 12:26 PM

[Socialism c...:]

Letting Lehman go bankrupt was the right decision...and the path that ought to have been taken across the board!! The solution to this *over-credit-driven* economic bubble is *not* more spending...but rather, massive cuts to government (government as a middle-man is in effect an "inefficiency tax" imposed upon the economy), and massive, permanent tax cuts -- so that we can retain more of *our* money, save it, and spend from the coffers rather than on credit!! But of course, those in government are concerned with retaining their jobs, not with a proper economic restructuring -- its in their best interest to maintain the status quo!!

The income tax & property taxes must go. Same with cap gains, etc. The only taxes that maintain properly the Liberty of the people, and their control of the government, are consumptive taxes & tariffs -- the preemptive right to their earnings is otherwise presumed to be government's, rather than the peoples'.

fairtax.org

We need the Fair Tax, and a Balanced Budget Amendment.

2008 Nov 26 01:55 PM

[poncawolf:]

Help is on the way?
Same Idiots that burned down the house - is now going to rebuild - what they burned down.
Wonder what shall rise from there ashes?

3 BIllion poor rising up?

2008 Nov 26 05:12 PM

[Frank Lind:]

A group of idiots who have not been mentioned are the American people for not saving anything and going into so much debt to finance their excessive consumption, riding the housing boom themselves and not planning for a rainy day.

2008 Nov 27 07:41 AM

[CLH:]

The only turkey is the credit crisis. No one looks good this year.

2008 Nov 27 07:57 AM

[Ferdinand E...:]

The real turkey is the man who appointed the 'smartest guy in the room' to be the big boss at the Fed.

2008 Nov 27 08:25 AM

[who:]

TURKEY BUSH!

2008 Nov 27 08:31 AM

[tginomorebush:]

TOP TURKEY OF

2001....... 2002.....2003.....2004...

THE #1..... king george iii bush-it ...... mr. perfect with "no errors" as "the decision-maker" and "mission-accomplished"... !

2008 Nov 27 09:05 AM

[jackooo:]

Turkey #1... the Democratic congress.

2008 Nov 27 11:06 AM

[User666777:]

#1 Turkey is......the politicians who in their attempt to buy votes brought out the Clinton era mantra of "everyone needs a home, it is the American Dream" and then went out a turned a blind eye to Freddie and Fannie accepting unempoyment benefits and food stamps as plausible income streams to be used as justification for a 100% financed loan.

Dodd, Frank, Schumer, Raines, all then tried to cover up and direct attention away from what they knew was happening but could not do the right thing any more than an addict can do the right thing, had to get votes !!! If we keep people in houses that can not afford them using certian governement payments(unempoyment, food stamps, aid to single mothers) then they will have to vote for us because the mean republicans would cut off benefits and they might lose the house.

Bush also bought into the idea as did most all politicians, we all know that real estate values ALWAYS go up, so what is the big problem.....

2008 Nov 27 12:03 PM

[bobbobwhite:]

#1 turkey is outright winner Bush, with close runner up at turkey #2, our infamous Democratic congress, which in 2005 under fire-breathing Nancy Pelosi (who turned into a meek yes-woman later), was supposed to control/stop Bush from damaging America even more than he had already in his first term. Promises, promises.

Look what they did together in those years to help turn the greatest country in the world into a 3rd world debtor nation filled with alienated, distressed citizens. Thanks so much for nothing to both Bush and congress.

2008 Nov 28 10:44 AM

[Octogenarian:]

no CEOs from auto industries? How about the moron's who predicted $175 oil by Turkey Day? Yes, too long a list, so little time.

2008 Nov 28 11:11 AM

[george9:]

YOU HAVE LEFT OFF NOT HONORING THE FANNIE AND FREDDIE PFD'S. , GOD WHAT A MESS.

2008 Nov 30 09:53 PM

[Fremon:]

For those who would blame the democratic congress, remember the Repos were in charge for 6 years and extended policies of the administration and deregulation. Yes, the Demos are complicit for not calling the failures and what would happen if these policies went unchecked. But again remember, the Senate had enough members to put a block on any Democratic changes. Don't blame Pelosi although I would like to see that change in the congress.

2008 Dec 01 07:03 PM