What's That Sound??
It's the sound of Tiger's and Serena's stock crashing.
When will these idiot consumer product companies figure out that betting the bank on a bunch of famous athlete's meticulously manufactured McPersonality "brands" almost always end up being bad business?
Kind of says it all when you realize that the same companies (Allstate, GM, Dr Pepper, Gillette for starters...) that put hundreds of millions into this kind of "character" branding give little more than a couple of measly (token) $1,000 scholarships to the academic programs represented by their "offensive/defensive players of the game"?
Never mind that the companies spend far more money on just telling everyone about their token generosity than they do on just being generous...
I'm just wondering out loud here, but has anyone ever studied the overall contribution to society made by Heisman Trophy winners versus, let's say, National Merit Scholars? (I don't see the consumer product companies lining up for those endorsements!)
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Heisman Hoopla
As a Longhorn alum and fan, you'd think I'd have a horse in this Heisman race. But actually I could care less. These are college kids, for crap's sake! It makes for good fun on a Saturday afternoon in autumn, but let's all get a sense of proportion here. It makes me sick to my "CapitalOne Bowl: What's In Your Wallet" stomach.
Perhaps college football teams ought to be divested from the universities, turned into NFL minor (but professional) leagues sponsored by corporate America, with the coaches having to graduate in four years before turning pro. At least that way it could be passed off as a somewhat academic "Taco Bell: Think Outside the Bun" pursuit instead of the fraudulent big-money charade it is now.
Hook 'Em AT&T Wireless!
Phaeidaeux
P.S. Colt: please do us all a favor and spend this weekend at home mowing the "Scotts' Miracle-Gro" lawn for your Dad, taking his "Chevy-Tested Tough" vehicle for a "Meinecke Car Care" oil change, or whatever - as long as come Monday, you just "Don't Leave Home Without It".
"Easy."
Right?
OK, "Just Do It."
Perhaps college football teams ought to be divested from the universities, turned into NFL minor (but professional) leagues sponsored by corporate America, with the coaches having to graduate in four years before turning pro. At least that way it could be passed off as a somewhat academic "Taco Bell: Think Outside the Bun" pursuit instead of the fraudulent big-money charade it is now.
Hook 'Em AT&T Wireless!
Phaeidaeux
P.S. Colt: please do us all a favor and spend this weekend at home mowing the "Scotts' Miracle-Gro" lawn for your Dad, taking his "Chevy-Tested Tough" vehicle for a "Meinecke Car Care" oil change, or whatever - as long as come Monday, you just "Don't Leave Home Without It".
"Easy."
Right?
OK, "Just Do It."
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
So who needs banks anymore?
So who needs banks anymore?
Seriously, banks aren't lending cash, they're hoarding it. (Just ask any real estate developer. Banks already own too much real estate to bother with anyone who's going to build more.) And one view of the spread between the highest and lowest rates banks charge each other (LIBOR) as of this morning is the highest it's been in a long time (http://tinyurl.com/oefcdm), which means that certain banks don't trust others. Moreover, corporations are just bypassing banks altogether by issuing their own debt securities directly to other institiutions that have money and are willing to lend it. Even the Fed is getting in on that game by purchasing these securities.
So we have this huge thing called the internet and some are already using it to do the heavy lifting that the banks don't want to do. For example, microlending is certainly changing the way poor and rural people in foreign countries can now fund small businesses. And Virgin Money (another brainchild of Richard Branson) has set out to let borrowers craft their own private lenders - from those who know them best: friends, family and neighbors. In fact, that's exactly how banks became banks in the first place! They lent to family, friends and neighbors - because they knew them best.
Seriously, banks aren't lending cash, they're hoarding it. (Just ask any real estate developer. Banks already own too much real estate to bother with anyone who's going to build more.) And one view of the spread between the highest and lowest rates banks charge each other (LIBOR) as of this morning is the highest it's been in a long time (http://tinyurl.com/oefcdm), which means that certain banks don't trust others. Moreover, corporations are just bypassing banks altogether by issuing their own debt securities directly to other institiutions that have money and are willing to lend it. Even the Fed is getting in on that game by purchasing these securities.
So we have this huge thing called the internet and some are already using it to do the heavy lifting that the banks don't want to do. For example, microlending is certainly changing the way poor and rural people in foreign countries can now fund small businesses. And Virgin Money (another brainchild of Richard Branson) has set out to let borrowers craft their own private lenders - from those who know them best: friends, family and neighbors. In fact, that's exactly how banks became banks in the first place! They lent to family, friends and neighbors - because they knew them best.
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