Corporate America's Icons Crumbling Under Global Recession

[babylonsister]

Corporate America's Icons Crumbling Under Global Recession

By Steven Mufson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 6, 2009; Page A01


The truisms have been familiar to generations of Americans: As General Motors goes, so goes the nation; Citigroup is too big to fail; General Electric, one of the 12 original companies in the Dow Jones industrial average in 1896, brings good things to life.

But the giants that only recently seemed like the unshakable foundations of the economy are faltering one after another. The girth that once seemed a source of strength now appears to be undermining them.

A share of Citigroup, worth $55.12 less than two years ago, yesterday cost about half of an ATM fee, finishing the day at $1.02 after briefly breaking below the buck-a-share level. The once-mighty financial conglomerate, valued at more than $300 billion in March 2007, was worth just $5.6 billion yesterday.

General Electric, whose mix of financial services, consumer products and industrial goods was once considered a sturdy pillar of the U.S. economy, closed yesterday at its lowest level since 1992, barely a 10th of its peak level. The price of a GE share, $6.66, was less than the cost of single compact fluorescent flood light bulb.

And battered GM shares slid yesterday yet another 15 percent to $1.86, not quite enough to buy a gallon of gasoline, after news that GM auditors warned the company might not remain a going concern without massive additional assistance from the U.S. government. While GM's fate might indeed mirror the nation's for now, the company could perish before an economic recovery arrives.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/05/AR2009030503798.html?hpid=topnews

[ixion]

1. These 'icons' lost interest in America a long time ago

so, despite the rough times ahead, I'm not really that sorry to see them go. Healthy companies will replace them, in time, but I admit that the lapse in between will not be pretty.

[madrchsod]

2. the news story about the short selling of ford stocks

exposes what is going on in in the market. the only reason general electric crashed is they did`t pay a dividend to save several billion. i guess the boys were a bit pissed off because they did`t get paid this quarter.

we are not getting real reform from the people who are in charge.

[SoCalDem]

3. The DJA needs to jettison those "penny-stocks" and stop giving us all

a second-by-second accounting of their status.. We know they are CRAP..we know they grossly inflated their worth, and have been lying to us ..probably for YEARS..

[Kansas Wyatt]

4. Corporate America was too big and good for America.

We tried to tell them years ago, that if you sell out the people, you will have no foundation to stand on.

But no, going bigger and global was much better, and the people could just lick up the scraps. After all, Corporate America adopted Neo Con Reaganonmics for their business model, and the CEOs could write their own reality and future.

Well Corporate America... You have become a scrap heap, you sold out your foundation years ago, and 'We The People' are sick and tired of your scraps!