Two recent stories highlight the current moral double standards regarding defaults and indebtedness in general. The first article uses American Airlines’ Chapter 11 filing, lauded as a “smart move”, and contrasts this reaction to the stigma surrounding personal bankruptcies by home owners. The second article tries to tack the same “double standards” theme onto Germany, but it doesn’t work nearly as well.
Berkshire’s new acquisition looks like a logical extension of his Burlington Northern acquisition, in the “picks-and-shovels” realm of the Logistics sector. Bonus: our most loyal reader sent us the transcript of Buffett’s June 2010 testimony at a hearing of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. You can always send us suggestions, links and texts at editor@buysiders.com.
Great story at Bloomberg profiling Ryanair and its colorful CEO, calling him “the id of the airline industry”. Right or wrong, he’s a ground-shaker and iconoclast questioning some of the most basic assumptions regarding air travel. At the very least, it serves as a reminder of so many other “unquestionable” business models that have been changed from within or from the outside by seemingly preposterous ideas. Seen in another light, when someone has a clear vision and understanding of its clients’ needs (explicit and tacit) and matches that to its company competences and a compelling value proposition, (even) the sky is (not) the limit. You keep improving your model and the gift keeps on giving.
There is an increasing amount of BRK shares sold short and people seem quick enough to point to the Burlington deal as the culprit, for many reasons (listed inside). They may be missing the number one reason, and it’s one that merits attention.
