| Chrysler: The View from the White House Felix Salmon submits: Steven Rattner’s first-hand account of the automaker bailout is self-serving (of course), but still very much worth reading. He’s very much the office-bound technocrat: “we recognized the importance of a trip to Detroit,” he writes at one point, “so in March, several of us made the journey”. Well, yes, that would probably make sense. At the same time, this financier understands clearly and intuitively that in bankruptcy proceedings, seniority of creditors doesn’t matter:Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Harley-Davidson Stays Optimistic Despite Dismal Earnings Wall Street Cheat Sheet submits: by David GibbsAmerican icon Harley-Davidson (HOG) reported a larger loss than analysts expected when it released its Q4 financial data Friday morning. The motorcycle manufacturer reported a loss of $218 million, or $0.94 / share, coming in significantly lower than the consensus estimate of a $0.27 / share loss. Shares fell hard on the news, closing the day at $23.59 for a loss of almost 8%. These were the first quarterly losses experienced by the company since 1993. Still, an optimistic CEO Keith Wandell expressed his belief that the current weakness is self-inflicted, due to massive corporate restructuring, and that it is “worth the longer-term gain” that the company expects to see. These feelings were echoed by an analyst at Wells Fargo, who recommended aggressive buying into any weakness.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
San Francisco: Marshaling Water and Historic Railway Lines for Future Transport Gregor Macdonald submits: I can never decide which is sadder: the Obama Administration’s token 12-15 billion dollars for national railways, or, the greenblogger, transportblogger, and mainstream media’s belief we’re pursuing a new rail policy. The United States has for years been piled high with unfunded rail projects, just waiting for a green light. But the 12-15 billion allocated so far will, at best, provide nothing more than seed money for mega projects like high-speed rail while neglecting the myriad smaller projects across the country. In the same way the Obama Administration has no energy policy, they have no transport policy. Turning the clock back a few years, however, it’s worth recalling that John Stilgoe’s Train Time was not only well received among his graduate students at Harvard, but was also popular among hedge funds and private equity investors looking to invest in rail. There were reports that investors were scurrying to locate historic rail maps across America, and also Rights of Way deeds, to better quantify emerging opportunities. To this point, I found the first of some historic railway maps for the Bay Area this week, at Calisphere. Here is a section of the 1900 Mill Valley and Mt Tamalpais Railway Co Map and Schedule:Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Tesla's Deal Works in the Short Term; Long-Term Is Another Question Bill Simpson submits: This analysis of Tesla Motors (TSLA) was provided to TradingIPOs subscribers in advance of its Tuesday, June 29 IPO. Tesla sold 13.3 million shares in the IPO and priced the deal at $17, above its expected range of $14 to $16 a share.____________Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
GM’s IPO Filing Reveals Challenges That Could Discourage Investors Money Morning submits: By Don MillerWhen General Motors Co. (GM) filed registration papers for an initial public stock offering (IPO) last Wednesday, it also revealed the formidable challenges it faces - some of which may give pause to investors considering taking a stake in the venerable automaker.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |