I have post3ed the first two paragraphs of  Emerson's Essay on Gifts for several Chirstmas seasons on the blog. While it always has releveance this time of year, please at least read the first line, gee nothing changes eh?  You can easily Google and find the entire essay. but as he says,  a  proper gift conveys…

Talk about unintended consequences, Holy Bailout Batman! NASCAR was red hot as the new sport the last few years. But with the big Three on the ropes, sponsorships are headed south. Seems the NASCAR Rookie of the Year is about to be out of a job. This is a great example of just how many people…

John Thain ahs actually asked the merrill Board for a $10 M bonus. He managed to pull off a merger at the last minute and he sold $30 B worth of sub prime for thirty cents on the dollar. But as the article says, in the midst of bailout fatigue, I find it unbelievable that he…

Regualr readers of the blog are aware that Barney Frank and Chris Dodd personally chaired the oversight committees for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Both have collapsed but neither guy has assumed any responsibility for it. We are now confronted with the problem of letting 435 congressmen and 100 senators 'play' CEO.  Which is to…

Your new accounting gang, Professors Richard Green, Lynette Chapman,and myself have reworked the spring schedule from the fall schedule.  You will notice most accoutning classes meet twice a week, by design. We firmly belileve that re inforcement is an integral component of learning accounting. Prof Green and I attended the TSCPA CPE  Expo here this…

My weekly newspaper column! As I write against the deadline Friday Morning Nov 14, oil is down and probably headed for $50.  It may over run that to forty something for a short time. And that is precisely what happened. Oil dropped over three dollars December 4, basis January  futures, to close at $43.67.  Our…

Bally Fitness filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy today.  this is another sign of the credit crunch consumers deciding they can do without some things I was a member since my workout stuff is in Dallas. Nice facility but obviously a lot of overhead. hard to cut those leases and fixed overhead in a crunch, but the…

Ford owns Volvo and GM owns Saab.  The US Congress is certainly not going to bail out Sweden. These brands are not huge, Each sells way less than say Audi. Now the reality of globalization in reverse. Ford acquired volvo along with Aston Martin and Jaguar when it went on a buying spree 15 yerars…

The iconic Apple iPod is everywhere and being solid state, they work great. And that is the problem, does anyone need a new one, or even another one?  I suspect that product is now already in mature phase, in these markets and with over one hundred million sold, it does not take long. I suspect we…

Birmingham AL may be facing the biggest municipal bankruptcy in history.  Housing then casinos have collapsed, no doubt taking the economy of Las Vegas and Nevada with it.  I suspect the next disaster is municipal debt and the inabiltiy to pay it.  The numicipal bond market is melting, it is difficult to get a bid on…