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New York, 7:16 AM
Thu Nov 26
45 posts in the last 24 hours
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08/06/09
In the Chrysler bankruptcy court hearings, a dealer out of Little Rock expressed concerns that the process of closing dealerships was ripe with cronyism.
Here is a sample of his testimony before Judge Arthur Gonzalez:
"I have detected a pattern: In every market where there is a dealership connected with former Penske Automotive executive Steve Landers, or his new automotive partnership with "Mac" McLarty (former Chief of Staff for President Clinton) and Robert L. Johnson (majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats), the competitors are rejected."
He then goes on to list specific examples of profitable dealerships in Little Rock, Fayetteville, Shreveport, Springfield MO, and Huntsville AL that were closed down in favor of Penske connected dealerships that were located in suburban areas.
08/06/09
08/06/09
07/17/09
07/17/09
It's interesting and kind of sad to celebrate a man that achieved more in publishing than most companies and to know it won't ever happen again.
Felix is a bit of a publishing martyr. Back in his hippie phase (not unlike the other cool tycoon, Sir Richard Branson) he went to jail briefly for pornography charges for publishing nudity in his 'Oz' magazine: http://www.oneplusoneequalsthree.com/2007/02/god_save_oz.html
07/17/09
Another plus for Dennis is that he still owns The Week, a newsmag which, though it ain't quite The Economist, is a far more informative and intelligent rag than Newsweek and Time - combined - are nowadays. (Or it was when I last looked at a copy, about a year ago.)
The Week has David Frum and Robert Shrum as contributing editors. You just know Dennis hired them because their names rhyme with "bum." They just don't make those kind of editorial decisions anywhere else.
This is the first time I've used the new comments setup and I'm irritated because I've got to write this into Notepad and then cut-and-paste it if I want to write this in minutes instead of hours. Or maybe I should just shell out the $400 for a new laptop.
07/17/09
*cough* or so I heard. Just a rumour though.
07/17/09
07/17/09
07/17/09
07/17/09
05/19/09
This douche had Chair's and Vice-Chair's for his fucking birthday party? And then it wasn't even like a 'major' birthday, like 50, just any old fucking birthday (not that it being his 50th would have made it that less douchey). Is this some rich people thing? Where every birthday or perennial occasion needs to be feted like a fucking college reunion or some shit?
05/19/09
05/19/09
05/19/09
04/17/09
"While such payments are legal, they often raise questions about conflicts of interest and would be illegal if used to bribe public officials."
03/30/09
Stay at GM --> Appear before Senate subcommittees and get lambasted --> Forced to offer to take no salary or bonus until company is fixed --> fall guy when things don't work out
Leave GM --> Take multi-million dollar retirement and pension plan
Seriously. It was only nominally Rattner. Wagoner saw what happened to Vikram Pandit, Lloyd Blankfein. He knew he was going to get blamed, spend years working for little to no pay, all for very little upside. He can bow out now, pick up his millions, and move to NC and assistant-coach Duke, with no scrutiny. Easy decision. Not a force-out.
03/30/09
Also, when did disappear become a transitive verb?
03/30/09
Rattner really has no authority, he is a known brown-noser. Wagoner (IMO) is being the fall guy so the bondholders have to take the debt-for-equity swap and the unions have to stop turning GM into a pension plan with a sideline of auto manufacturing.
03/30/09
03/30/09
I don't have the strength to go through the proxy and figure out what his lump-sum or annual comp will be once he leaves. But it will be big, and plenty to salve his ego from stepping down.
The transplants have shown that American auto manufacturing can and does work. The problem is they don't have legacy costs. GM/F/C won't "work" until they are on the level playing field without legacy costs. It's been that way (or so it seems to me) for years. If the union wants to go down with the ship, then fine. But they're ignoring what seems (to me at least) obvious - GM cannot afford what they promised years ago. The world has changed.
03/30/09
03/16/09
Insana being hired as a manager will be, in retrospect, indicative of the market peak. When reporters are considered fund-raising draws, it's time to pack it in.
03/16/09