Dave O.

Should GM Be Saved?

There is no accountability for this mess on either side; Management claims its the fault of the capital markets, labor claims they have given concessions and is no longer to blame.

For 25 years (since the Chevy Vega, Ford Pinto, Dodge Omni) these companies have given us shoddy products with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude.
There was a time when we had no choice. Now we do, and the paybacks are painful.

GM and F carry $billions on their books as 'goodwill' or invisible assets.
GM and F have negative goodwill, their names are a liability and the situation is more dire than the lousy GAAP numbers suggest.

"Its not my fault" is an excuse given by adolescents when they want something after being proven they're not responsible enough to handle it.

GM is not Rick Wagoner, and its not the UAW. The company should be saved. Get rid of the deadwood. All of it. And start over.

Musical Chairs - Cramer's Mad Money (10/3/08)

Re: Wachovia-Citi. There are still legal issues to be resolved, and Citi is not going away without a fight. They'll spend $100 million in legal fees before they'll ante up another $12B and enter a bidding war. The shareholders are in for a roller-coaster for the next several quarters.

Too bad Alan Fishman of WaMu didn't have this kind of foresight. The shareholders got raped by the FDIC and Al "The Shark" gets to retire early. Nice work.

Did the FDIC Sabotage WaMu's Management and Erode Investor Confidence?

Imagine the outrage, both public and regulatory, if, say an auto insurance company deemed a driver 'unsafe', confiscated his $12,000 automobile, sold it for $1200 and kept the proceeds. Imagine a home insurer declaring a smoking homeowner 'dangerous', confiscating his $250,000 house, selling it immediately for $25,000 and retaining the proceeds. The shenanigans behind the FDIC -JPMC deal will soon come to light in the face of shareholder lawsuits. They'd be smart to allow current shareholders to sell at $3 to $4 than to spend $billions more defending their chicanery.