Earnings releases for Q1 2014 continue to be reported, and as they do, the financial markets react accordingly; both rationally and irrationally. When all of the eleven major automotive players have submitted their summaries and presentations, investment-auto-motives will obviously provide its well established provision of 'Couples Ratios'. Doing so at a prescient point after the immediate reactive volatility has settled.
[NB it should be stated that the Q4/FY 2013 analysis was intentionally not provided given what appeared strong 'peaking' and 'barrel-rolling' within many corporate share-price graphs, then suggesting a short-term pull-back and price contraction. This did indeed arrive with the usual high-volume stock rotation ploy of institutionals and investment banks, moving from cyclical-orientated stocks which had surpassed fair-value toward other stock classes. Portions of funds were no doubt were directed toward what became the tail-end of the notional 'growth stories' of tech and bio players, itself soon heavily contracted as early-birds took profits (at the cost of institutionals). With presumably a greater portion taken 'off the table' awaiting the return of fair valued industrials, associated services and other macro-related companies; the cheap stock era now a very distant memory].
Instead of the immediacies and detail of automotive stocks - various back to 'fair value' having 'peaked' and 'rolled' - this weblog provides a far more esoteric and philosophical tone.
At long...long...long last, the real economies of the hardest hit by the financial crisis and sovereign debt crisis are demonstrating new signs of 'green shoots' growth vitality so counter-balancing and substantiating the previous ferver of financial markets confidence. This 'traction' theoretically self-perpetuating, so feeding further business expectation (whilst in the midst of continued debt deleveraging, 'lean' inventory management and necessary 'thin' labour levels) and so new investment.
Given the immense time-lag if the recovery - in real terms nigh on a decade long - much will now be expected of those in the younger generation, those in their twenties and thirties who, unlike their 'over-exposed' cynical elders, imbue the much needed optimism.
This state of affairs is seen within the story-lines of the 'New Troubleshooter' TV series, Digby Jones stepping into the modern-day shoes of Harvey-Jones, demonstrating how many of Britain's (and no doubt Europe's and America's) oft family run SMEs must substantially "raise their game" if they are to compete within what is now a far flatter and intensively competitive globalised commercial world; with the obvious intrinsic message of "higher value", "brand generation" and (to rehash the 1950s and 1970s edict) "export or die".
Previously investment-auto-motives relayed the wise learning and thoughts of many acclaimed 20th century investors, so to compliment, at this very important juncture within the new global (re)growth story, it is worthwhile re-absorbing the broader business perspectives of well known and less famous 'sages'.
Prescient Quotations -
in no specific order
"Business has continued to be more interested in thinking, in general, more than any other sector of society. The explaination for this is because there is a reality test; there is a bottom-line. There are sales figures and profit figures. There are results."
(Edward de Bono - 2010)
"Loose ideas on the subject of business will not answer. It must be reeduced to something of a science. It has principles, upon a knowledge and an application of which. success in it depands"
(Christian Nestell Bovee - 1862)
"The performance of business leaders during the next decades will play a major role in determining not only business but political and social trends for a long time to come. Principle reasons being:
a) business leaders control the economic well being of enterprise and stockholder
b) the course of business shapes public opinion
c) thus business leaders shapes public opinion
So in addition to his/her prime responsibilities of managing for profit, the business leader is faced with new and larger responsibilities. And at the same time the immediate job is increasing in complexity. Consequently, the imposition of additional responsibilities makes this nation's task of developing an adequate number of properly equipped executives leaders a staggering one indeed."
(Marvin Blower - 1949)
"What I must understand is why someone will continue to get out of bed in the morning once they have all the money they could want. Do they love the business or do they love the money?"
(Warren Buffett - 1999)
"The man of business knows that only by years of patient, unremitting attention to affairs can he earn his reward, which is the result, not of chance, but of well deserved means for the attainment of ends."
(Andrew Carnegie - 1913)
"The men (and women) who succeed are the efficient few. They are the few who have the ambition and will power to develop themselves"
(Herbert N Casson - 1933)
"Goodness is always an asset. A man who is straight, friendly and useful may never be famous, but respected and liked by all who know him. He has laid the foundation of success and will have a worthwhile life"
(Herbert N Casson - 1948)
"Part of America's industrial problems is the aim of its corporate managers. Most American executives think they are in the business to make money, rather than a product or a service. The Japanese corporate credo is that a company must become the world's most efficient provider of whatever product and service it offers. Once done and continued, profits follow"
(W E Deming - 1982)
"You can hardly have too much harmony in business. But you can go too far in picking men because they harmonize"
(Henry Ford - 1922)
"If we are all in agreement on the decision - then I propose we postpone further discussion until our next meeting, to give ourselves time to develop disagreements and better understand what the decision is about"
Alfred P. Sloane - 1920s)
"Every new development, highway, railroad, steamship line, building operation, whether a drainage project in Old Greece or a new water system in New Peru, means added use of the automobile".
(Walter Chrysler - 1920s)
"There is only one social responsibility of business. To use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits, so long as it stays within the rules of the game. Which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud."
(Milton Friedman - 1970)
"Perpetual devotion to what man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things".
(Robert Louis Stevenson - 1881)
"Our main obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions"
(Edward R Murrow)
"People err when they think they can be inhuman exploiters in their business life, and loving family members at home"
(Smiley Blanton)
"It is unfortunate that we can't buy many business executives for what they are [actually] worth, and sell them for what they think they are worth"
(Malcolm Forbes)
"If all economists were laid end to end, they'd never reach a conclusion"
(George Bernard Shaw)
"Business is infested with idiots who try to impress by using pretentious jargon"
(David Ogalvy)
"Real riches are the riches possessed inside"
(B C Forbes)
"An organisation's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is ultimate competitive advantage"
(Jack Welch)
"Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art...and good business is the best art"
(Andy Warhol)
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, so I may learn how to do it."
(Pablo Picasso)
"We have not noticed how fast the rest have risen. Most of the industrialised world, and a good part of the non-industrialised world, has a better cell-phone service than the USA, they have better broadband, America 16th down the list. All the while we are told by politicians that the US is #1. Whilst nearly a third of our school system is disfunctional"
(Fareed Zakaria - 2010)
"Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can"
(Paul Tournier - unknown)
"Ambitious people climb and climb, with great labour and incessent anxiety"
(Robert Browning)
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends upon the unreasonable man."
(George Bernard Shaw)
