GM CEO on Twitter
GM is using social media to get its message out. The company, in bankruptcy, is planning to put executives in touch with media and consumers through its blogs and Twitter, said Mary Henige, GM’s director of social media, broadcast & diversity communications. (and how’s that for a corporate 2.0 title?)
More info from Henige (via Advertising Age’s Adages blog) :
General Motors President and CEO Fritz Henderson will host a media webchat on Tuesday, June 16, from 1 to 1:45 p.m. CDT to answer reporters’ questions about GM’s reinvention and other activities.
Media can log into the chat at and ask questions online. The entire chat will be archived at the site. While only media questions will be answered during this live chat, the chat is open to the public.
Immediately following the media webchat, Henderson will respond to consumer questions via Twitter from 2:45 – 3:15 p.m., from the @gmblogs account.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Six Flags files for bankruptcy
See what happens when you move out of Oklahoma City? Six Flags Inc., the world’s largest and brokest amusement park company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Saturday. (I didn’t know bankruptcy courts were even open on Saturday.) Heavy debt and some bad business decisions led to today’s filing.
The company moved its headquarters out of Oklahoma City after Daniel Snyder, flamboyant owner of the Washington Redskins, assumed control of the corporation. During his attempt to take over Six Flags, Snyder wrote a letter to shareholders warning them they would be better off stuffing their money in a mattress than with Six Flags under the previous management. Now Snyder’s stake in the company may be wiped out by the bankruptcy.
Another potential big loser is Bill Gates, whose private investment firm owned millions of shares.
While the Six Flags business model may have been faulty, the company sure can build a roller coaster.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
A literary stock report
Israel’s daily newspaper Haaretz replaced its reporters with authors and poets for a day this week, reports the Jewish Daily Forward. The idea was to recognize Israel’s annual Hebrew Book Week.
Author Avri Herling published the following summary of the day’s stock market activity:
Everything’s okay. Everything’s like usual. Yesterday trading ended. Everything’s okay. The economists went to their homes, the laundry is drying on the lines, dinners are waiting in place… Dow Jones traded steadily and closed with 8,761 points, Nasdaq added 0.9% to a level of 1,860 points…. The guy from the shakshuka [an Israeli egg-and-tomato dish] shop raised his prices again….
I like that. A lot. I’ve often argued that the daily take on stock activity is frequently a dispatch of bad journalism and guesswork — and that’s from someone who has written a few. \
Elsewhere, Eshkol Nevo’s TV review opened with the admission, “I didn’t watch TV yesterday.” The weather wrap was a poem by Roni Somek, titled “Summer Sonnet.”
“Summer is the pencil
that is least sharp
in the seasons’ pencil case.”
Newspaper are trying a lot of new things in this era of industry change. This experiment perhaps bears repeating. (via Kottke)
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Graphic succeeds at reflecting business failures
GOOD magazine offers a great graphic comparing the largest bankruptcies. Click image for much larger version.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
CEO is OK
Perhaps only journalists get geeked about a new AP Stylebook. So bear with me as I tout the newest edition. From The Associated Press:
Twitter, the social networking tool that has turned millions of people around the world into instant micro-bloggers, has made it into the 2009 edition of The Associated Press Stylebook, along with complicated business terms such as credit default swaps and derivatives that have gained more exposure amid the global recession.
While I’m not that excited about the appearance of Twitter, I am pleased that the AP has approved the use of “CEO” on first reference to a chief executive officer. I can’t tell you how many times I have gritted my teeth and inserted “chief executive officer” in an already too-long paragraph. So, CEO it is.
In the category of door-slamming after equine exit, AP has altered its policy on how to refer to U.S. Presidents, requiring the use of first and last names. Of course, the change comes just as the second President Bush has left office.
I haven’t seen a new stylebook yet, but I hope they haven’t changed my favorite, highly existential entry: Words as words.
The meaning of this phrase, which appears occasionally in this book and similar manuals that deal with words, is best illustrated by an example:
In this sentence, woman appears solely as a word rather than as the means of representing the concept normally associated with the word.
When italics are available, a word used as a word should be italicized.
Italics are not available to highlight this type of word use on the news wires. When a news story must use a word as a word, place quotation marks around it.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
No soft landing for lifetime saver
Garbage men search for a mattress that reportedly contains one million dollars in the landfill of Efeh, Wednesday, June 10, 2009. An Israeli woman mistakenly threw out a mattress she said had almost $1 million inside, setting off a frantic search through tons of garbage at a number of landfill sites on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)
The next day, she said, she remembered that she had hidden her life savings inside the old mattress. “I woke up in the morning screaming, when it hit me what happened,” said the Tel Aviv woman, who asked not to be identified.
She went to look for the mattress, but it had already been hauled away by garbage collectors, she said. Subsequent searches at three different landfill sites turned up nothing.
If she only could have talked to an Oklahoma banker first…
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Your 2010 GM product lineup
General Motors created the concept of producing a new line of cars each year, back when the company ruled the industry. While the idea of rolling out totally revamped products has evolved, the manufacturers do try to offer something new each year even if many models feature just minor changes. So it’s interesting to see what GM is offering in the midst of battle for survival.
Here’s the latest from GM:
GM will focus on four brands — Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC — that combine leading-edge design, technology, engineering excellence and quality, backed by the most comprehensive customer care package in the industry.
For those brands, GM will introduce six all-new, car and crossover models, including the Buick LaCrosse luxury sedan; the Cadillac SRX crossover and Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon; the Chevrolet Camaro sports coupe and Chevrolet Equinox compact SUV; and the GMC Terrain compact SUV. In addition, Chevrolet’s iconic nameplate, Corvette, adds the Grand Sport, one of the most recognized names from Corvette’s illustrious racing heritage.
Additionally, the Pontiac Vibe will be available as a 2010 model; the Pontiac G6 will be available only for fleet customers.We have further streamlined the product guide by offering only a list of “What’s New” for certain carryover models, rather than a full news release. Full news releases have been included for newer models. Specifications and photos are available for each vehicle plus Fleet & Commercial and GM Powertrain. Video is also included in certain vehicle sections and the GM Powertrain section. There is no embargo date for any of the material.
More here.
Meanwhile, What I Learned Today put a pencil to paper and determined that each of us has invested $362 in GM. Unfortunately, GM will need to grow to a market cap of $83 billion before we break even. Unfortunately, that’s nearly 50 percent higher than the company’s all-time peak worth, and more than 10 times its current value.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Businesses and free brew
My colleague Nick Trougakos offers a couple of business-related posts on his beer blog, The Thirsty Beagle. Molson has decided to stop providing free beer to its 2,400 retirees, of each whom previously had sucked down nearly 900 bottles of brew annually. Obviously, they’re upset.
Meanwhile, a Fort Collins, Colo., brewery offers a free bicycle and two six-packs a week to its employees. If you want to get hired, get in line behind Nick.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
NY Times to add consumer blog
I’m a regular reader of the Consumerist blog, which now is owned by Consumer Reports. It’s a good aggregator of consumer-related stories. New York Times business editor Larry Ingrassia disclosed in a chat with readers that the Times will launch a consumer blog, although he points out that the Times already offers a good selection of consumer-related material.
You want more? We’re going to give you more. We will soon launch a consumer blog covering all of these issues, and then some. Watch this space.
It’s a welcome addition to an already strong blog lineup.
Business Writer
Fewer offers, more fees after credit card reform
The number of credit card offers to U.S. households plummeted 67 percent in the first quarter, when compared to last year’s January through March period, reports lowcards.com. At the same time, 27 percent of those offers carried a fee, up from 18 percent a year ago.
Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com and author of “The Credit Card Guidebook,” said consumers should brace for the changes.
The new credit card regulations will substantially reduce the revenue for issuers. Increasing the number of cards with annual fees is certainly one way to make up for this shortfall. Consumers must pay attention to the offers they receive to see if the card has an annual fee. In addition, consumers need to look at the notices you receive in the mail or in your bill to see if your issuer has added, or even increased, an annual fee.
Just this week, I received a credit card offer from Citi. I’m not interested in opening a new account, but if I were I might want to check the issuer’s credit report before signing up. Exactly how much does Citi owe me already?
