Good WSJ Articles – Monday, July 7th, 2008
No links – just headlines. If you subscribe to The Wall Street Journal in print, online, or by Kindle and don’t have time to read the whole paper, here’s a list of some of today’s articles you shouldn’t miss.
GM Weighs Layoffs, Sale of Brands
Merrill May Sell Bloomberg Stake, Some of BlackRock
Glaxo Seeks Guidance from Health Systems
Immelt Defends GE’s Wide Reach
Firms Train for EU Raids Amid Price-Fixing Probes
Pay Your Own Way: Firm Lets Workers Pick Salary
Gas Stations Hit Skids
Retro Ploy on Wall Street
Why Bother?
GM Weighs Layoffs, Sale of Brands
Only if you’re interested in General Motors (GM) or automakers. The branding thing has always baffled me, not just for GM but for carmakers generally. It seems poorly done, confusing, bound to lead to cannibalization, etc. – but I’m not a marketer.
By the way, John Bethel’s Controlled Greed is the best blog for GM shareholders.
Merrill May Sell Bloomberg Stake, Some of BlackRock
Shows the cost of being in a position where you need to make a deal. Who will buy the Bloomberg stake? Don’t know. Probably not Berkshire – it’s likely Bloomberg will be too expensive for Buffett’s taste, though I imagine it’s the kind of company he’d like to own at the right price (it’s also sized right).
Glaxo Seeks Guidance from Health Systems
Read for a sense of the trends in government and medicine.
Immelt Defends GE’s Wide Reach
Combine with 24/7 Wall St’s post and enjoy a GE twofer.
Firms Train for EU Raids Amid Price-Fixing Probes
Funnier than fiction.
Pay Your Own Way: Firm Lets Workers Pick Salary
Neat idea.
Gas Stations Hit Skids
Can you believe it? An article involving gas prices that contains info you probably didn’t know.
Retro Ploy on Wall Street
Because I’ve always thought rights offerings were underutilized and overstigmatized.