by Ron Carleton | Jan 20, 2009
The 2007 year-end selling season was not good for the home furnishings retailer “Linens ‘n Things.” Quarterly sales were up 0.6%, but only because the company opened four new stores. Ignoring the new stores, same store sales were down 1.0% for the...
by Ron Carleton | Jan 10, 2009
How did General Motor’s run through so much liquidity so fast? Static measures like cash and liquidity don’t really give us the full answer. We need a more dynamic view of what’s driving GM’s liquidity; something that focuses on uses and sources instead. Here’s a...
by Ron Carleton | Jan 5, 2009
As we move further into recession, we often see a pattern in corporate free cash flow (defined here as cash from operating activities minus capital expenditures and dividends). A company’s ability to manage cash flow as sales decline is a key determinant of...
by Ron Carleton | Dec 31, 2008
After asking for $18 billion, General Motors is getting a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Government. They claim they’re running out of liquidity and they need the funds to survive through 2009. Are they right? Or is this just financial incompetence taking advantage of...
