Memory Lane

[johnyholiday]

thought it would be fun to step into the time machine and glance at Enron's 1999 annual report. We can see how useful these things are in monitoring our investments.

First, let's make sure the firm we're dealing with has their values firmly in place:

[johnyholiday]

OK, good. Now let's make sure we're dealing with a plucky, innovative firm. The report is peppered with rhetorical questions - here's one......I guess they didn't want to print the answer to that one ("Because Enron illegally manipulated the markets.")

[johnyholiday]

Let's at least make sure a third party vouches for the accuracy and completeness of the facts presented herein: Good, good. Strange, I can't seem to find the phone number for this firm anymore.

[johnyholiday]

This business fiasco was brought to you by.......

[jacksonbart]

To get there do you take a left or right off of Hickory? Can't remember.

[oldbuckster]

Put them in a cell with Big Bad John, they better hope they have their mudflaps on!!!!!!!

[sputnik]

Here is how our local utility was raped, killed, and butchered. I think this even more egregious than Enron. We had cheap power and the company was solid as a rock until these guys got done with it aided our old governor, Marc Racicot, who went on to become a Bush goon and is now an insurance industry goon.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/06/60minutes/main539719.shtml

[Colin]

For nearly 90 years, the Montana Power Company did not exemplify the very best of American capitalism, unless you call regulated monopolies the very best example of capitalism. People forget that public utilities were regarded as fat, lazy cash cows that guaranteed their investors an 11%! risk-free return! Not just the water and powers ones, but the postal and railroad ones too.

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Yes, Enron was guilty of hiding losses in Fastows secret partnerships, while paying him millions to do it, but they were also at the forefront of de-regulation. You know, the arcane idea that government should not limit the supply, competitors and price in free markets.

Montana Power went where all the small savings and loans banks went as the federal government changed the power and banking rules and pulled the safety carpet out from under them. If Montana Power is not the cheapest source of electricity in the area, then it was not cheap power it was subsidized power. The spike in electricity prices came as the government foolish deregulated parts of the electricity supply, while holding price and development controls on other parts.

Get into Telecom? Montana Power merely zigged when it should have zagged. This is the risk that businesses face everyday. It is the risk of free markets. Yes, it was stupid. Yet the exes stuffed their pockets by re-deploying the assets. Dont forget that this was an area in decline as mining operations pulled out and clean-up efforts began.

In the interest of full disclosure, I own some Northwest Energy, I hope it recovers.

[Jay481985]

Here is how our local utility was raped, killed, and butchered. I think this even more egregious than Enron. We had cheap power and the company was solid as a rock until these guys got done with it aided our old governor, Marc Racicot, who went on to become a Bush goon and is now an insurance industry goon.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/06/60minutes/main539719.shtml

sorry to hear, my brother actually worked at the manhattan headquarters for Goldman Sachs but he worked at the time for bonds... There a bunch of low lives over there anyways.....

[kaiser SET say]

Get into Telecom?

Colin, I could load you're plate sir as I was laid off/force reduced in 2001 as the Director of outside plant operations in Arkansas for WorldCom!

Came right in and relieved me, my admin. of 7 years and 4 of my top paid technicians which cut $250,000.00 from the salaries budget just like that not too mention when Bernard was told he should buy MCI (which was ripe for the picking with 4 consistent $750,000 quarterly losses) to become the 2nd largest Telecommunications firm in the country but failing internally it basically wipped out what was heading to be a 2 million dollar retirement fund for me so I guess you know my feelings about the whole merging venture[8o|]

[sputnik]

For nearly 90 years, the Montana Power Company did not exemplify the very best of American capitalism, unless you call regulated monopolies the very best example of capitalism. People forget that public utilities were regarded as fat, lazy cash cows that guaranteed their investors an 11%! risk-free return! Not just the water and powers ones, but the postal and railroad ones too....

.......Dont forget that this was an area in decline as mining operations pulled out and clean-up efforts began.

For 90 years, the Montana Power Company served it's customers, stockholders, and employees well. Instead of noting delusional concepts of a free market in power generation and distribution, we should recognize other valued characteristics of capitalism. Yes it was given a monopoly, but MPC returned fair value in exchange. Company management was conservative and far sighted, securing a solid future. It was a win-win deal. Cheap power in Montana was secure and they were a good corporate citizen until the opportunists took over. The new management was like the ne'er-do-well son raiding the family trust fund, that had been built up by hard work over generations, to buy sports cars and speed boats (that he would eventually wreck or sink because he couldn't handle them). They did it in secret and with the help of a controlling political faction that claimed to be pro-business. These politicians abandoned their consituents and helped kill a solid and vital business. It was beautiful stroke for some - everyone else suffered. You could try to argue that deregulation forced power generation into a free market but the ugly result was all about short term exploitation and not capitalism.

Mining in Butte was on the upswing again and environmental clean-up activies in Butte actually helped revitalize the local economy - these were not factors in the slaughter of MPC.

Added: For full disclosure, I never owned stock in MPC or Northwest Energy but I feel sorry for my friends that got shafted. I also now pay my utility bill to an out of state corporation and I'm waiting for the competition to show up.

[oldbuckster]

ENRON another type of terrorist attack, White collar........