Companies & Markets

The Crony Capitalist Corruption At GM

by David Stockman •  • Comments Off on The Crony Capitalist Corruption At GM

GM blamed a low-level engineer for its ignition switch fiasco. That doesn’t even merit an “oh puleese!” I speak from personal experience: I owned a supplier that was smashed to smithereens by GM’s engineering and purchasing bureaucracy. 

Canary In A Handbag: Why Coach Hit The Skids

by David Stockman •  • Comments Off on Canary In A Handbag: Why Coach Hit The Skids

Coach just had an earnings fiasco. Sales plunged 21%. Prospects are worse for the period ahead. Store closings are coming. That’s the payoff for playing the destructive game of the Wall Street casino.

Last Time Corporate America Did This, The Stock Market Crashed

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Last Time Corporate America Did This, The Stock Market Crashed

So what happens when these huge and reckless buyers with their nearly endless resources start cutting back after a phenomenal peak? Well, we know what happened in 2008.

In Search Of Russia’s Lost Fracking Boom

by Oilprice.com •  • Comments Off on In Search Of Russia’s Lost Fracking Boom

Gazprom’s mega-deal with China sent shockwaves around the world. But Gazprom might not be able to honor the deal if shale reserves are not tapped soon. And that might not happen because capitalism à la russe is a harsh mistress.

Last Time this happened, The Financial Crisis Broke Out

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Last Time this happened, The Financial Crisis Broke Out

There comes a time when risk just disappears, when nothing can go wrong, when there are no dark clouds on the horizon. The Fed has a measure for it: the Financial Stress Index.

Selling Your European Stocks Before Everyone Sees This Chart?

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Selling Your European Stocks Before Everyone Sees This Chart?

The European economy has been on a phenomenal roll since 2012, according to the soaring Stoxx 600 stock index. Recessions, unemployment fiascos, toppling banks, collapsing auto sales… they didn’t exist. But what the heck is wrong with this picture?

Even The Record Stock-Market Bullishness Is Fake

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Even The Record Stock-Market Bullishness Is Fake

Record bullishness about the S&P 500! But beneath the largest stocks, volatility has taken over ruthlessly, the market is in turmoil, people are dumping stocks wholesale, dreams and hopes are drowning in red ink, and Wall Street doesn’t want you to see it.

The Big Hoax Of The Wall Street Hype Machine

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on The Big Hoax Of The Wall Street Hype Machine

How the most important “data” Wall Street hands out via its army of analysts to rationalize lofty stock valuations is consistently (chart!) the biggest hoax out there.

The Fracking Shakeout

by Oilprice.com •  • Comments Off on The Fracking Shakeout

By Nick Cunningham: The US shale oil and gas industry is in trouble. Drillers have to borrow more and more just to stay on the fracking treadmill, even as production and revenues disappoint. And some of them could be heading toward bankruptcy.