Did Toyota really do anything wrong? It’s hard to know. Infrequent, intermittent problems, especially electrical ones, are almost impossible to diagnose. You have to catch the criminal in the act, which is hard to do when the criminal is a packet of five or six electrons that turned left instead of right three layers down … Continue reading Words of Irresponsibility – “Our Company”
Category: Business
Healthcare – Part Deux
The other day, my friend Scott McMillan posted a comment about the opening sentence of my (now ancient) last post. He said, “I’d like you to comment on this statement: ‘It’s starting to look like we’re going to get some sort of healthcare reform.’” Well, Scott, here you go. It’s often been said of the … Continue reading Healthcare – Part Deux
A Plague on Both Our Houses
OK, I’ll admit that I’m stumped on this one. It’s starting to look like we’re actually going to get some sort of healthcare reform which, at least in general terms, I believe is a good idea. If you think what we’re doing now is working, read the first paragraph of this article. We spend more … Continue reading A Plague on Both Our Houses
Play On!
This is a stop-the-presses moment. According to today's NY Times, Raj Rajaratnam, the alleged mastermind of alleged insider trading at Galleon Group, actually lost money on the scheme. I'm now invoking my "I'm not good enough to make this stuff up" rule. To understand what an achievement this is, imagine that your phone rings and … Continue reading Play On!
Taming the Beast
Imagine that you have a life insurance policy that you no longer need. You could let it lapse or cash it in. You also could choose to sell it, perhaps to me. I’ll pay you a lump sum for the policy and agree to pay any remaining premiums. In exchange, I’ll get the payout when … Continue reading Taming the Beast
Car Sick (Vol. 2)
I had in mind to offer up some extensive comments on the state of the auto industry, who's to blame for what, and so forth, but I think those subjects have been pretty well beaten into the ground. So I’ll just offer these two personal experiences, both of which involved rental cars, which is just … Continue reading Car Sick (Vol. 2)
Car Sick – Vol. 1
According the NY Times, the debt markets are valuing the restructuring package for GM’s lenders at roughly $3.4 billion. The lenders will end up owning 10% of GM, which means the market is valuing the entire business at $34 billion. Meanwhile, the government is investing $50 billion in GM in exchange for a 60% ownership … Continue reading Car Sick – Vol. 1
Breathtaking
There's been a lot of noise in the marketing community over the past few months about Pepsico's "re-imaging" of its major brands. These efforts have ranged from puzzling to disastrous. Gatorade's rebranding of its classic product as "G" drew mild protests. Apparently, consumers were supposed to understand that a G with a lightning bolt represents … Continue reading Breathtaking
AIG: Who Knew? (Not the People Who Should)
If you haven’t been following the Daily Show vs. CNBC feud, it’s great entertainment. If we could just find a way to add back to the Dow all the points Jon Stewart has been racking up, the recession would be over. A year or so ago, Tom Friedman of the New York Times pointed out … Continue reading AIG: Who Knew? (Not the People Who Should)
Tribune Bankruptcy – Early Warning Sign
The Tribune Company filed for bankruptcy early this week. I wasn't surprised because I saw an early warning sign that they were in trouble. If you're in Chicago, you may have noticed that the Tribune underwent a major format change a few weeks ago. Essentially, they turned it into the Redeye. This is another way … Continue reading Tribune Bankruptcy – Early Warning Sign
Carp Diem 