Everybody with a finger in the tragic Lac Megantic pie has agreed a settlement.
Everybody, that is, except the US hedge fund Pershing Square which managed to hijack the iconic Canadian company with a mere 10% share-holding.
According to CP Rail, the race to the bottom in railroad safety had nothing to do with them.
They had nothing to do with the small-time operators like "Fast Eddie" Burkhardt, the guy who owned the train that destroyed Lac Megantic.
Fast Eddie is the guy who figured out a crew of two in a railroad locomotive was a safety hazard, because when you got two guys in the locomotive, by golly, they just gonna be distracting one another.
Two mile long tar-sludge tanker trains just gonna be safer with one guy in the cab, not two.
For their part, CP Rail likes to brag about how they revolutionized rail transport in Canada by making trains longer, running them faster, and firing thousands of employees.
Yup, can't see no safety issues there...
Meanwhile, the hedge fund shit-bags who were allowed to rape this iconic Canadian company are going full steam ahead on their share buy-back plan.
Share buy-backs are about as useful to a company as lighting a boxcar full of hundred dollar bills on fire. It's using company cash to artificially pump up earnings-per-share and all that other stuff the money geeks fret over. The intent is to goose share value.
In the case of CP Rail, the share price has tanked about 20% since the Ackman crew started the buy-back.
Luckily, they've still got a few dollars left over to pursue appeals of the Lac Megantic settlement.
Showing posts with label Pershing Square Capital. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pershing Square Capital. Show all posts
Monday, July 27, 2015
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Bill Ackman shows why hedge fund slime tactics need to be regulated
The NYT has an expose of the lengths to which Pershing Square Capital boss Bill Ackman will go to lobby regulators and elected officials to aid him in his campaign against Herbalife.
I've never bought a Herbalife product and generally can't get too enthused about any direct-marketing scheme, be it Amway or Mary Kay or whatever, but like them or not they've been a part of the business scene for generations. Whatever flim-flam and unrealistic expectations they're peddling pales in comparison to what Ackman is doing.
Among other things, he's giving hedgies a bad name. This isn't "capitalism", it's rank cynical opportunism. It's a bully trying to destroy the value of another company with tactics made possible by his deep pockets and political connections.
What would stop this foolishness? A 100% tax on non-productive economic activity. Take the incentive away completely. Let Mr. Ackman and those like him use their talents and their money to make constructive contributions to the society they're a part of.
Many, many entrepreneurs have proven that can be profitable too.
I've never bought a Herbalife product and generally can't get too enthused about any direct-marketing scheme, be it Amway or Mary Kay or whatever, but like them or not they've been a part of the business scene for generations. Whatever flim-flam and unrealistic expectations they're peddling pales in comparison to what Ackman is doing.
Among other things, he's giving hedgies a bad name. This isn't "capitalism", it's rank cynical opportunism. It's a bully trying to destroy the value of another company with tactics made possible by his deep pockets and political connections.
What would stop this foolishness? A 100% tax on non-productive economic activity. Take the incentive away completely. Let Mr. Ackman and those like him use their talents and their money to make constructive contributions to the society they're a part of.
Many, many entrepreneurs have proven that can be profitable too.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Bill Ackman's "vision" for CP Rail already fraying around the edges
Not that Ackman ever had a vision for CP that went beyond making a quick buck.
Business media were over-the-top today in praise of the quick turnaround Ackman has engineered at the railway. Hunter "Hitman" Harrison, the Ackman installation as Chief Engineer, was busy bragging that things were going so swimmingly that pink-slips might go to 6,000 from an initially projected 4,000.
Alas, late in the day the Montreal Gazette dropped this stinker into the celebratory punch bowl. Seems the outfit that runs Montreal area commuter trains has a few issues. They can't get their trains to the station in time with any consistency because of the newer leaner CPR's "...poor track-maintenance planning, switching errors, and communication problems. Strained relations between CP and its employees are another big part of the problem..."
Well whadya know... maybe you can't run a railroad without people after all?
Business media were over-the-top today in praise of the quick turnaround Ackman has engineered at the railway. Hunter "Hitman" Harrison, the Ackman installation as Chief Engineer, was busy bragging that things were going so swimmingly that pink-slips might go to 6,000 from an initially projected 4,000.
Alas, late in the day the Montreal Gazette dropped this stinker into the celebratory punch bowl. Seems the outfit that runs Montreal area commuter trains has a few issues. They can't get their trains to the station in time with any consistency because of the newer leaner CPR's "...poor track-maintenance planning, switching errors, and communication problems. Strained relations between CP and its employees are another big part of the problem..."
Well whadya know... maybe you can't run a railroad without people after all?
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Bill Ackman dons mantle of righteousness
Taking a break from his screw-over of Canadian Pacific Railway, "activist investor" Bill Ackman is making headlines with his pledge to drive the value of Herbalife shares to zero.
And even though Ackman claims his Pershing Square hedge fund has accumulated an enormous short position in Herbalife, Bill says he's not doing this for the money. In fact, he says that in the event he makes any, he will donate the gains to charity.
Bill is doing this for "poor people" says Bill. Poor schmucks in Africa who have been beguiled into believing that they too can get rich as a Herbalife distributor.
Hell, I figure anybody that stunned is just a patsy waiting to be fleeced anyway. But it sure is nice that Bill cares.
Frankly, anyone seriously interested in getting rich would be well advised to copy Bill's MO. That "activist investor" shtick has worked wonders for him. All he has to do is take a minority position in a company, and then manipulate the media to publicize the pending shake-down... sorry, I meant to say shake-up of management.
Viola! The publicity itself will produce astonishing results in Ackman's portfolio.
So if you're a young keener with a hunger for riches, forget that Herbalife nonsense.
Gather up a few friends, pool your resources, and become an activist investor like Bill Ackman.
And even though Ackman claims his Pershing Square hedge fund has accumulated an enormous short position in Herbalife, Bill says he's not doing this for the money. In fact, he says that in the event he makes any, he will donate the gains to charity.
Bill is doing this for "poor people" says Bill. Poor schmucks in Africa who have been beguiled into believing that they too can get rich as a Herbalife distributor.
Hell, I figure anybody that stunned is just a patsy waiting to be fleeced anyway. But it sure is nice that Bill cares.
Frankly, anyone seriously interested in getting rich would be well advised to copy Bill's MO. That "activist investor" shtick has worked wonders for him. All he has to do is take a minority position in a company, and then manipulate the media to publicize the pending shake-down... sorry, I meant to say shake-up of management.
Viola! The publicity itself will produce astonishing results in Ackman's portfolio.
So if you're a young keener with a hunger for riches, forget that Herbalife nonsense.
Gather up a few friends, pool your resources, and become an activist investor like Bill Ackman.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
The rape of CP Rail
CPR stock swooned to new highs today after it was announced that up to a quarter of the work-force will be dismissed over the next coupe of years.
Hedge fund visionary Bill Ackman and his management team have figured out that if you just make the trains longer you can get by with fewer crew.
Guess that's why he's a billionaire and I'm not.
Bill is no ordinary hedge-fund shit-bag. He is an "activist investor," as the papers never tire of telling us. That means he takes a minority stake in a venerable company and uses that to bully the existing management out of the way and install his hand-picked rapists.
Rapist-in-chief at the new CPR is Hunter Harrison, the man who successfully did away with the eight hour day at rival railroad CNR a decade ago.
That's the least of what you can expect at the "new" CPR.
Hedge fund visionary Bill Ackman and his management team have figured out that if you just make the trains longer you can get by with fewer crew.
Guess that's why he's a billionaire and I'm not.
Bill is no ordinary hedge-fund shit-bag. He is an "activist investor," as the papers never tire of telling us. That means he takes a minority stake in a venerable company and uses that to bully the existing management out of the way and install his hand-picked rapists.
Rapist-in-chief at the new CPR is Hunter Harrison, the man who successfully did away with the eight hour day at rival railroad CNR a decade ago.
That's the least of what you can expect at the "new" CPR.
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