“The stimulus bill passed by Congress in response to the COVID-19 economic crisis includes massive bailouts for airlines and other large companies deemed necessary for national security, in the aggregate around $500 billion, including $25 billion for company payrolls.”… via The American…
AIR IMPACT
Recognition of AIR research, opinions, and people in the media and elsewhere
How To Manage Public Stakes In Bailed-Out Companies
“On such a model, it makes intuitive sense for the government to take equity from the companies in which it is itself an investor. A government loan, for example, is essentially a government investment; and in general, it is well…
Stock buybacks and company executives’ profits
“A stock buyback occurs when a publicly traded firm repurchases some of its shares from investors with excess cash or borrowed funds. In recent years, the annual aggregate value of such repurchases has risen to historical highs, reaching nearly $1…
If companies aren’t buying their own stock, who is?
“Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. added $2 billion to its stock buyback program on March 3, a vote of confidence among executives as the stock market began to slide. Just over three weeks later, the hotel company would strip the business…
U.S. companies criticized for cutting jobs rather than investor payouts
“ U.S. companies laying off workers in response to the coronavirus pandemic but still paying dividends and buying back shares are drawing criticism from labor unions, pension fund advisers, lawmakers and corporate governance experts.”… via Reuters I by Alwyn Scott, Ross…
Share buybacks have been the ‘only net source of money entering the stock market’ since 2008
“Like every great crisis, the coronavirus pandemic has laid bare everything rotten and degenerate in capitalist society. Nowhere is that exposure more pronounced than in the case of the stock market—that vast institutionalised mechanism through which the wealth of society,…
No, we shouldn’t bail out Boeing
By Mandy Smithberger and Ryan Summers March 31th, 2020 “The coronavirus epidemic has already transformed the country, disrupting industries nationwide and causing thousands of Americans to lose their jobs. Congress recently approved over $2 trillion in spending to help businesses,…
Coronavirus Crisis and Bringing Manufacturing Back
“Tripp Babbitt shares his interpretation of wide-ranging aspects and implications of Dr. Deming’s theory of management. This month he looks at the Coronavirus crisis, past crises, and where we go from here.” [Click HERE to listen the interview]
The COVID-19 Pandemic Exposes Balance-Sheet Frailties. It Is Time To Enforce Fiscal Discipline!
“Stock-based compensation plans for corporate executives are the main driving force behind the stock buyback binges. Professor William Lazonick writes, “Stock-based instruments make up the majority of the executives’ pay, and in the short term buybacks drive up stock prices.”…
Let this stimulus bill be just the first arrow to strike against stock buybacks
By Editors “The members of Congress who fought for a ban on stock buybacks in the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package did the right thing for Americans. But the ban should be considered a mere starting point in limiting corporations’…