The man runs to the office: he is late and loses the contents of his briefcase. In case thermos, doughnuts and napkins.

Barron’s & the Sorry State of General Motors

October 26, 2022 — Business, Technology

If electric vehicles are the future of automotive, General Motors CEO Mary Barra continues to suffer major missteps, admitting this week that her ambitious EV sales promises will be delayed another year. As well, Barra has issued yet another recall for her monster Hummer pickup, this one for a faulty battery seal allowing water to seep in.

One upon a time, Barron’s would be the publication sounding the alarm and warning investors about Barra’s track record of broken promises and GM’s history of shoddy manufacturing. Now it’s just another voice in the legacy media’s EV choir.

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Gavin Newsom’s Misguided EV Mandates

October 21, 2022 — Politics

Many Americans are under the mistaken belief that the transition to electric vehicles is being overseen by intelligent leaders who have applied considerable thought on how best to blow up a century-old technology.

Here’s some insight on one of the politicos leading the charge.

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Mark Solheim: The Dale Carnegie of ESG Investing

October 18, 2022 — Business, Media, Politics

I’ve long opposed ESG, or so-called socially responsible investing, because it legitimizes the activities of some companies that do very bad things. So when I retrieved the November issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance this past weekend and found the publication touting ESG on its cover, my instinct was to toss it in the garbage and cancel my subscription. Reading editor Mark Solheim’s justification for the cover story decision didn’t change my views on ESG, but he made me feel good about subscribing to Kiplinger’s.

Solheim is the rare journalist who knows how to win friends and influence people. His column is a masterful example of engagement. Corporate governance commentator Nell Minow and Toronto Globe and Mail reporter Rita Trichur would be wise to read it.

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When Advertising Was Brilliant and Evocative

October 15, 2022 — Business

The launch of Michigan’s Corewell Health last week and its tag line, “Together, we are now” marked a new low in American advertising and marketing. The earth rumblings you possibly felt was David Ogilvy rolling in his grave.

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Why I’m Selling the Brooklyn Bridge for Crypto

October 13, 2022 — Humor

For all the lofty talk about blockchains and massive computer systems so powerful they can’t be hacked, it was disclosed in an Australian court this week that Crypto.com is vulnerable to costly errors of Bulgarians with names like Dimitar or Yordanka whose Excel skills are possibly more lacking than mine.

If you’re attracted to cryptocurrencies, I’ve got an alternative asset you might want to consider.

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The Bonnie and Clydes of Cryptocurrency

October 9, 2022 — Technology

Until this weekend, I thought that I was too dumb to understand cryptocurrency. But after reading about the $580 million hackers pilfered from Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, I’m no longer convinced that I’m the moron.

If you aren’t familiar with the Binance heist, you should be.

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Bloomberg Exposes Self-Driving Tech “Scam”

October 7, 2022 — Business, People, Technology

Bloomberg today published an expose on self-driving vehicles that confirmed my worst fears and doubts about executives who champion the technology and Wall Street money managers duped by the hype.

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GM On My Mind – October 6, 2022

October 6, 2022 — Business, People

My thoughts on GM’s illegal payment demands of U.S. military personnel, the $102.6 million a California jury has awarded the company to pay for allegedly selling faulty engines, and why newly hired “chief people officer” Arden Hoffman strikes me as someone who can inspire beleaguered employees to return to the office.

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