Tell It To Al

Private equity firms have flipped Sealy mattress several times over the past five years – sometimes bagging huge profits for themselves, but never really creating jobs or growth.

All the criticisms of private equity – that they take companies, loan them up with debt, and pass them on to the next buyer – come to life in the story of Sealy.

Click here to read my column in The Sunday Wall Street Journal.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation this week legalizing driverless cars on Golden State highways.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin says they’ll likely be available within the next four years.

So what happens when a driverless car hits another driverless car? I guess, no-fault insurance was ahead of its time. Or may we’ll just sue Google since it’s going to be doing the driving.

I still think the driverless car is a lot further away than five years. And I bet when they come out with them they’ll be of little use for bar-hopping. The people riding in them might still be charged with driving while intoxicated, or maybe the driverless cars won’t know to pull over.

I have a lot of questions about these things.

Click here to read my column on Marketwatch.

Kodak is not going to be in the digital camera business. It’s not going to be in the photo paper and film business. And now it’s not going to be in the printer business, either. Click here to read more in The Wall Street Journal.

What’s going to be left of this iconic company when its bankruptcy organization is complete?

Probably nothing.

Click here to read a column I wrote on Kodak last year, predicting as much. I had a lot of fun writing headlines using photography puns. And then I asked my readers to do the same. Click here to read an anthology of Kodak puns. A few one liners can really tell the story,  like “Kodak just doesn’t see the whole picture.”

When it comes to the economy, most economists agree we should do something about our nation’s spending, just not now.

That’s according to a new survey by the National Association for Business Economics.

Yes, they are for harsh medicine, as long as we do it later.

Politicians, needing to be elected, have to think this way. But economists? Can’t they take a stronger stand than this?

Click here to read my column on MarketWatch. To read the survey, click here and open the PDF,”Policy: September 2012.”

David Nelson gave most of his life to RadioShack. He became a district manager over as many as 51 stores. But when he turned 55 RadioShack pulled his plug.

Suspecting he was the victim of age discrimination, Mr. Nelson turned to the Equal Opportunity Commission, which sued the iconic retailer on his behalf, for age discrimination and retaliation for complaining about age discrimination. Last week, a federal jury found RadioShack’s actions willful, and the court granted him $187,000 in back pay. A judge meanwhile, is considering further remedies.

RadioShack declined to comment on the case, but said it is considering an appeal.

I don’t know if a company disrespects its employees because it’s in trouble, or if a company gets in trouble because it disrespects the people who deal directly with its customers.

RadioShack continues to drag along the bottom of an electronics retailing industry now dominated by Amazon.com. It’s stock, which traded for more than $20 two years ago, could be had for less than $3.

Click here to read my column in The Sunday Wall Street Journal.

Americans view China as a bigger threat to the United States than almost any other country, according to a survey by the Pew Center, anon-partisan think tank.

What is it about China we fear? Certainly not it’s communism. In fact we are more afraid of it’s capitalism.

The last thing we want is another nation beating us at our own game.

Click here to read my column on MarketWatch. And click here to see the Pew Center study.

Hey, Hey. Holy Mackerel. No doubt about it.
The Cubs are Republicans.
The Cubs are going to spout today;
They’re gonna rant today;
They’re gonna rage today.
Come what may,
The Cubs are gonna spin today!
—-
I guess this is why President Obama is a White Sox fan: The owner of the Cubs is shelling out big bucks to Republicans. It’s a daring move in a town full of Democrats that happens to also have a better-performing baseball team.

Click here to read my column on MarketWatch.

Remember when all of Wall Street nearly failed in 2008, and all the wonks on TV talked about all the “toxic debt” in the basement of our nation’s banks? You might have wondered: What are they going to do with all this toxic debt? Who is going to buy all this toxic debt from them?

The answer, of course, is the Federal Reserve. Not only has the Fed been buying mortgage-backed securities all these years, keeping the market flowing for these enigmatic securities – but now it’s buying more.

QE3 – or the Fed’s third round of massive bond buying known as “Quantititive Easing” – will involve the Fed buying $40 billion a month in mortgage-backed securities from banks – indefinitely.

The Fed’s plan to put billions more into the economy this way is just another sign that all is not well. The stock market and the economy is still on life-support.

Click here to read my column in The Sunday Wall Street Journal.

Some of America’s most popular eateries may be underpaying their wait staff.

That’s the charge in a lawsuit recently filed against Darden Restaurants, purveyor of Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, and other well-known restaurants.  Darden denies the charges, and it  appears to be a well-run company with a stock that continues soaring in our current economic malaise.

Miami Attorney David Lichter, who filed the lawsuit against Orlando-based Darden, told me he has heard from hundreds of current and former Darden employees, but his lawsuit has only named two people who no longer work there. Time will tell how widespread this alleged problem is.

All I know is that it’s not difficult to find a disgruntled former waitress – even one from a Darden restaurant. Kim Stahler, who used to work at Red Lobster, was so angry when she left, she started a website called The Stained Apron. It’s a place where wait staff complain about their customers and their managers. She hasn’t updated it in a while, having moved on with her life. But the site is there for posterity and worth a read.

You know what you think of the waiter. But guess what the waiter thinks of you.

Click here to read my column on Marketwatch.com

Would moon your boss if you knew it might cost you $2 million?

Probably not.

When analyst Jason Selch decided to moon his higher ups at Bank of America, he figured he could be fired, but he didn’t think his employer would deny him the $2 million in defered compensation. The expression was intended to convey his disgust at top management for letting go of his long-time friend and colleague.

But not only did  Bank of America withhold his money, but a Cook County, Illinois, appellate court recently ruled in favor  of its decision to do so. The court found Mr. Selch’s action “egregious” and said it basically nullified his employment contract.

Of course, a lot of passionate behavior in the workplace might be defined as “egregious,” from profanity to flipping the bird. Emotions often run high in a merger-rattled workplace.  Does it mean a company can withhold compensation? Under this ruling, it can.

“This decision puts every employee at risk for losing their contractual rights if they misbehave in the office,” Mr. Selch said. “It sends the signal that corporate America is much stronger than we expect, and that we better be very careful as employees.”

Click here to read my column on Marketwatch.