Warren Buffett, widely revered as The Oracle of Omaha, has long warned us it is only when the tide goes out that we discover who’s been swimming naked. Right now it feels like the whole coastline is full of nudes.
In South Africa, social engineering and its demonic spawn politely described as “cadre deployment” is being badly exposed. Plus SA’s collective debt is being driven ever higher by economically suicidal lockdown regulations – with zero acknowledgement of now well exposed flaws in their base assumptions.
It is not only in the public sector where bare flesh is getting exposed. Almost impossibly, an iconic brand of my go-karting and lawn mowing youth has hit the wall. The 112-year old small engine maker Briggs & Stratton survived the Great Depression and two World Wars. But not the Covid-19 pandemic.
The heavily indebted Milwaukee-based company filed for bankruptcy protection this week. Its already beleaguered shares, worth more than $1bn two years ago, have been delisted. In other words, they’re now worth zip. Creditors are already scrapping over what’s left inside the hopeless insolvent company. Sadly, it won’t be the last.
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