The concept of the European Community and a common currency worked okay (though with massive misallocation of capital) as long as long as there was lots of growth and lots of money and lots of subsidies for poorer countries and low interest rates. For a long time, what you could earn on a German bond wasn’t that much lower than what you could earn on a Greek bond of similar duration More…
Posts Tagged ‘Finance’
What’s Going on in Greece and Why You Might Care
Monday, May 17th, 2010A Little Random Perspective on the Financial/Market/Credit crisis
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008Once upon a time, way back in 2003, an investment bank could only have leverage of up to twelve to one. In 2004, the Security and Exchange Commission gave five investment banks, and only five, the ability to leverage up to 30 or 40 times or so. Guess which five they were? I almost don’t want to bother listing them, because the list is so obvious. But for the benefit of all the readers More…
Money: That’s What I Want. Sources of Capital for a Growing Business
Wednesday, August 28th, 2002If your only business is snowboarding, you need money for three reasons. First, your business should grow at least as fast as the industry, and that growth translates into more cash tied up in the business. Second, extreme seasonality and the extended dating customers are demanding requires more working capital. Finally, tough competitive conditions are probably reducing margins, leaving less cash flow for each unit of product. Adequate working capital is never enough More…
Swell Raises $2 Million
Monday, May 14th, 2001Almost as soon as my article on surf industry internet models was finished, Swell shut down its Crossrocket site and then, on May 3rd, announced it had raised $2 million in bridge financing. I hate it when that happens. Rather than just throw up a press release that created more questions than it answered (see it below) Surf Biz asked me to track down new Swell Chairman and CEO Bob Allison More…
Sell!? Maybe It’s Time to Think About It
Monday, February 5th, 2001Here we all are, back from ASR and boy are we excited. More brands, more excitement, hype, orders, deals, three page ads in Skate Biz. People can’t get enough of skateboarding There’s nowhere for business to go but up, and it’s got to be even better next year. Unless, of course, it’s not. As a business owner, you have (or you ought to have) some goals that go beyond running your More…
Numbers, Numbers Everywhere And Who Knows What They Mean
Wednesday, November 3rd, 1999I do confess it. I was trained as a finance guy. I have an MBA, started out in international banking (Ask me about Carnival in Brazil sometime!), and did some corporate treasury and investment banking kind of work. Given the way things have changed, I decided it was okay to come out of the closet. Please don’t throw me out of the industry. Using this experience to get a handle on the snowboard industry More…
Building a Business; Issues for Would be Skate Entrepreneurs
Friday, June 5th, 1998When a market gets hot, people start companies. Where the capital costs and entry barriers are low, they start more rather than less. When there’s enthusiasm for the industry and the lifestyle, they often start them for all the wrong reasons, and without adequate or any business planning. It looks like easy money, but it usually isn’t. Well, God bless naïve, enthusiastic entrepreneurs because if everybody understood the risks and stresses More…
The Financial Impact of Consolidation; Why Is It So Hard on Smaller Companies?
Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997It’s conventional wisdom that smaller companies are having an especially tough time meeting their financial needs, or even surviving, in the snowboard industry shakeout. It’s so conventional it’s taken for granted; even chanted like a mantra at times. And it’s true. But why exactly? What are the specific changes in the financial operating environment of smaller companies that’s made life so difficult for them? It’s 1993. The glory days when a snowboard company More…
Selling Your Business How to Get Ready and What to Expect
Tuesday, August 13th, 1996At some point, every business owner considers selling their company. Most that don’t go out of business are sold at some time in their history. But between considering it and selling are a host of issues, surprises, conundrums, and general confusions for the business owner who has never been through the process before. I have spoken with or heard of sellers who are minimizing the chances of making a good deal by · Requiring More…
Big Air; Initial Public Offerings in the US
Sunday, December 31st, 1995Open on the table next to me I have the preliminary and actual prospectus for, respectively, Morrow and Ride Snowboards initial public offerings. As of December 13th, 1995, my broker assures me, Morrow is not public yet. Ride’s prospectus is dated May 6, 1994 and those of you who bought their stock at the time of the offering are patting yourselves on the back. Those of you who didn’t, aren’t. Ride’s prospectus More…
