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19 Jul 2009 15:34

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Biz: Why Exxon is an evil, unbelievably greedy company

  • Over the years, Exxon Mobil has been making major profits at levels larger than most of the countries in the world. They’re No. 2 on Fortune’s Global 500. source
  • Over the last 17 years, after a deal that went sour, they’ve actively sabotaged oil fields in Texas, filling them with junk and plugging up wells with explosives. source
  • In response to all of this, the company could have to pay some $1 billion in fines to the state – which, considering, seems a bit like a slap on the wrist. source

13 Jun 2009 16:10

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Biz: If you like amusement parks, you’ll hate this news

  • Six Flags number of flags flying above the amusement parks owned by its bankrupt namesake company source

10 Jun 2009 10:41

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Biz: Legal issues pushed aside, Chrysler and Fiat tie the knot

  • Last night, the Supreme Court pushed the biggest obstacle out of the way for the merger of the century … well, until GM has to do something similar. source
  • This morning, Fiat officially owns 20% of Chrysler, a share that could go up to 35% if it goes well. The UAW owns the biggest share, however, at 55%. source
  • Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne sounds upbeat about the sale: “This is a very significant day … for the global automotive industry as a whole,” he said. source

05 Jun 2009 02:15

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Biz: Why former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo is a bad, bad man

  • $387 million Amount Angelo Mozilo made as Countrywide CEO between 2002 and 2006. He co-founded the company in 1969 and was seen as a rags-to-riches story. source

16 Apr 2009 09:00

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Biz, U.S.: Mall owner General Growth goes through general collapse

  • $27 billion in debt – a record real estate bankruptcy. o_O source

29 Mar 2009 20:29

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Biz, U.S.: GM’s head guy, Rick Wagoner, is apparently gonna step down.

  • Why now? GM wants help General Motors’ top man is leaving now in part because the White House made strong hints that they wanted new leadership if the automaker wanted more bailout money. Wagoner has been with the company for over three decades and has been CEO for almost a decade. There’s no word yet as to who the new CEO’s going to be, but we’ll probably learn more later this week. source
  • Why now? GM wants help General Motors’ top man is leaving now in part because the White House made strong hints that they wanted new leadership if the automaker wanted more bailout money. Wagoner has been with the company for over three decades and has been CEO for almost a decade. There’s no word yet as to who the new CEO’s going to be, but we’ll probably learn more later this week.
  • A cruddy legacy Wagoner has led GM through some of the more questionable periods of the company’s history – between the fumbled response to Japanese carmakers, the legacy payments to union employees, the over-leaning on SUV’s to save the company’s fortunes and the utter lack of creativity in the company’s vehicles, it’s kind of tough to say what was the one thing that made GM fall so far. source

28 Mar 2009 13:42

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Biz: Charter has a crapload of debt, guys. They filed for bankruptcy.

  • $21.7 billion amount of debt the cable company, part-owned by Paul Allen, had on the books as of late 2008 source
 

08 Mar 2009 19:57

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Biz: Cooking the books, forcing layoffs, funding a killer shoe habit

  • $9.9 million Amount Annette Yeomans allegedly stole while the CFO of Quality Woodworks, Inc., a cabinetry company source

05 Mar 2009 10:36

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Biz: General Motors sounds like they’re on their last legs

  • The failure to obtain sufficient funding from the U.S. government or governments outside the United States may require us to shrink or terminate operations or seek reorganization for certain subsidiaries outside the United States.
  • General Motors • In a filing to the federal government regarding the health of their company. The company says it may have to go into bankruptcy to stay afloat, which, considering their size, would probably not be healthy for the economy at all. Michigan is screwed. • source

22 Feb 2009 09:57

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Biz: You shouldn’t invest in a company that named a stadium

  • 4.7% decline below the S&P 500 average for companies involved in a sports venue naming rights deal source