The Loss of an American Icon

The Loss of an American Icon

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It appears that INBEV will be the owner of the most storied brewing company in
American history, Anheuser-Busch.
According to several newspapers and those in the “know” INBEV sweetened the offer from $65.00 a share to $70.00, and the board is going to accept this offer some time between now and Monday evening.

Bud beheaded

Anheuser Busch is one of the most respected companies in the world, and if you have ever been employed by the A.B. company in anyway shape or form you know they care about their people. They rank up there in the top 5 in every category as it pertains to hourly employees. AB owns a variety of businesses, some are union some are non-union, and they go to great lengths to make sure ALL employees are treated fairly and equally, and for that I am grateful to have been associated with them.

All I know is I am very sad to see AB be sold to a foreign company, but this is a free market system, it is the capitalist way of life. The bottom line is money, and the $70.00 per share offer is 33% more than the stock has been worth over the last 5 years.

Those of us who were lucky enough to buy a lot of shares of AB stock during the past 3 years will make a some money, folks like Warren Buffet, Cindy McCain and those like them stand to gain a RIDICULOUS amount of cash. Good for them.

I don’t know how INBEV does business, I have heard they are far less “Pro-Employee” than AB was, I hear they are a bottom line company and if the results are not there they change people quickly. THIS might be a good thing.

I hear a lot of this type of complaining “The rich are going to get richer and then we are going to be unemployed.” Well that might be so, but it is OUR fault. Those that are getting richer, made the decisions early in their lives to be in the position they are in, and WE did not. We chose a
different path, we didn’t work hard enough or we weren’t born into it or what ever, jealousy is not a good emotion and it makes for a poor argument.

I don’t like that my wagon is hitched to another person’s horse, but that is the nature of the beast for the vast majority of us. We work for someone else, we are dependent on them for our pay check, our medical, vision, dental insurance and they are dependent on us to do the work they pay us to do. UNLESS you are in business for yourself, or you are collecting state/federal aid, you work for someone else, and if that “someone else” decides they no longer require your services, there is little you can do other than move on.

In my case, no matter what happens from here on out, I will be glad I had the opportunity to have worked for such a great company at one point in my life.

Hoisting a Bud.

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5 Replies to “The Loss of an American Icon”

  4. However, if you recall in the mid-to-late 80’s, everyone was concerned when Japan apparently went on a buying spree of properties in the U.S. Yes, Japan made many purchases and then Japan’s economy tanked and those purchases became later sales themselves.

    Much of this movement is opportunistic. Property is cheap, and not just at the level of the individual home. The dollar is weak and those able to do so are taking complete advantage of this fact but on a larger commercial basis.

    What is truly starting to become frightening is the portent of all of this: the rumbling roll of growing fear with regard to the weak dollar, the stock market, the price of a barrel of oil and now banks:

    “July 14 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, sending financial shares to their lowest level since October 1998, on heightened concern that bank failures will spread.

    Washington Mutual Inc. posted its biggest drop ever and National City Corp. tumbled to a 24-year low after last week’s collapse of IndyMac Bancorp Inc. spurred speculation that regional banks are short of capital. The companies said they’ve seen no unusual depositor activity. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac erased an earlier rally fueled by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s plan to help rescue the largest U.S. mortgage lenders. Alcoa Inc. jumped, limiting the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s drop, after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. advised buying the shares.”

    Unfortunately in the markets perception and NOT truth is everything. If people perceive banks are falling like a house of cards, they will. “Self-fulfilling prophecy” comes directly to mind.

    We are on the potential cusp of a remarkable crash, not unlike 1929.

    When I say that NOW might be a great time to buy ammunition, I’m not kidding.

    BZ

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