Thursday, August 19, 2010

Before You Buy a Single Share of General Motors...

Government Motors is planning to raise billions of dollars with an IPO of preferred stock under the ticker symbol GM. The National Legal and Policy Center has issued a warning as to why one cannot be too careful about this initial public offering:

More evidence that the GM IPO is being hurried for political purposes is found in the IPO registration filing yesterday. The company cannot assure the accuracy of its financial information because of weaknesses in its internal controls. How can GM offer and price shares if it cannot even attest to its own financials?

The shares being offered for sale will come from the U.S. government and the United Auto Workers (UAW) trust fund, another red flag. If the UAW has such great confidence in the future of the company, why is it selling? Is it to cash in on the superficial media accounts of GM’s “progress,” when it knows the long-term future of the company is less rosy?...

UPDATE: No less a source than Investor's Business Daily says, if the IPO is a "welcome victory" for the Obama administration, be afraid, be VERY afraid!

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