« Citi quarter disappoints, Mon., July 17, 2006, 6:45 AM | Main | Bombay Sensex plunges third straight day, Mon., July 17, 2006, 8:04 AM »
July 17, 2006
GM: like flies to manure, Mon., July 17, 2006, 7:20 AM
I am unimpressed with anything I read about the state of affairs at General Motors. I sold it a year ago at $35, and about six months later the stock hit a low close of $18.33.
I call GM a pure speculation " the antithesis of quality companies (like the Cara 100) where most people should be focused on trading shares.
Today in Japan there is published speculation as to whether Auto giant Toyota Motor (a Cara 100 component) will let third-stringer Nissan Motor go into a tripartite alliance with Renault and GM.
Some of you may see this as a defensive move by Toyota. I see it more as a case of flies being attracted to manure.
Am I interested in the GM bonds, and so forth? Hardly. I have zero interest in trading any securities that are swarming with lawyers seeking corporate re-organization fees.
That is a trading activity best suited to professional arbitrageurs. And those are the people who typically trade on arguably illegal insider information and planted news stories, which, in my view, is the bottom of the barrel of capital markets trading.
I look for securities that trade freely in markets on the basis of corporate fundamental and quantitative data, and macro-economic drivers, which is the way it should be.
There are many reasons why Toyota Motor has excelled for years as a manufacturer of autos and trucks. General Motors management ought to have been watching TM as a case study in corporate success.
General Motors [GICS 25, Dow 30]
(GM: Yahoo Finance file)
(GM: StockChart chart)
(GM: Investertech chart)
(GM: ADVFN Financial Data)(GM: ADVFN Financial Data)
(GM: Value Line Report Jun. 2: next one is due Sep. 1)
Toyota Motor [GICS 25, Cara 100]
(TM: Yahoo Finance file)
(TM: StockChart chart)
(TM: Investertech chart)
(TM: ADVFN Financial Data)(TM: ADVFN Financial Data)
Posted by Posted by Bill Cara on July 17, 2006 07:20:47 AM | Category: 25 Cons Discretionary

There have been some good buying opportunities in GM-related debt paper. For example, a short while ago I purchased a securitized GMAC 7.25% note (GKM), callable in 2008 at 25, at 19. When GM news turns bad, buying opportunties in this issue develop. There are several others out there, and have a good deal of upside whilst relying on the cashflow of the GMAC unit.
Posted by: Novalawyer
at
July 17, 2006 8:55 AM [link]