A little less than a year ago I put up Tesla: hope is not a strategy and listed the five things that were putting the future of Tesla in doubt: Tesla closed most of its retail showrooms and laid off staff in order to save 6% of cost per Model 3 car sold. The Model… Continue reading Tesla: if you can’t be right, be less wrong
What will cause the next recession
More digital ink has been spilled by traders, investors, bloggers, and charlatans, none of which are mutually exclusive, on what will cause the next recession. Some of these guys have been around long enough to have called 17 of the last 2 recessions. The reason so much time and effort is devoted to calling recessions… Continue reading What will cause the next recession
Stock Market Predictions
'Tis the season for... stock market predictions! Back when I was a wee credit analyst, my boss would ask me if I got updated financial projections from the management teams of the companies in my portfolio and what I thought of them. When I was just starting out, I would struggle to answer that question… Continue reading Stock Market Predictions
Kraft Heinz Company: The Rise & Fall (& Rise Again?)
Pop quiz: what is the result when you combine two iconic American consumer product companies with 150 years of history, let hot-shot private equity guys do their soft-shoe jazz hands bit with the imprimatur of no less than Warren Buffett, load it with debt, "create synergies and eliminate waste," and then briefly make it the… Continue reading Kraft Heinz Company: The Rise & Fall (& Rise Again?)
US Steel Industry Outlook: Hard Times Ahead
It turns out tariffs weren't the cure-all for the steel industry. In fact, the US steel industry outlook continues to depend on the end markets that it supplies. Those end markets, most of which are cyclical themselves, are subject to the same economic expansion and contraction constraints as the steel industry. What Happened to the… Continue reading US Steel Industry Outlook: Hard Times Ahead
Will Legacy Liabilities Sink General Electric (GE)?
August 15, 2019 was a rough day for General Electric's (GE) stock. Harry Markopolos, the guy who unraveled the Enron accounting fraud, released a 169-page report claiming that GE was a bigger fraud than Enron. The gist of the report was that GE was hiding a bunch of long-term care insurance liabilities and that if… Continue reading Will Legacy Liabilities Sink General Electric (GE)?
Now is the Time for Pension Liability Risk Transfer!
I know, I know: I apologize. That must be the most click-baity headline you've seen today. But stay with me because, with a little financial engineering, every blue-chip company out there that still has underfunded pension liabilities now has the opportunity of a generation. With a phone call to their favorite investment banker they can… Continue reading Now is the Time for Pension Liability Risk Transfer!
