Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Capitalism

We love capitalism.  We love capitalism as much as Obama hates it.

Want us to prove it?  Buy our Commie Obama hat!

We are big fans of Steve Jobs (our tribute posts to him: first and second) and of Apple products.  We know he's laughing today.


When they launched the iPhone in July 2007, Research In Motion's (Nasdaq: RIMM) Blackberry was the dominant smartphone.

Research In Motion (RIM) is in the news today.  TechCrunch:

After a rough day yesterday, RIM’s stock opened 10 percent lower today, trading at $10.05 at the opening bell. The stock price briefly recovered but it’s on a steady downward trend as of the writing of this post. If this slide continues, the stock is set to hit a low not seen since 2003.

Trading of RIM shares was halted for 15 minutes yesterday in order to issue a what the company called a “business update“. CEO Thorsten Heins detailed RIM’s recent challenges, and also explained that the company is employing the help of Royal Bank of Canada and J.P. Morgan to evaluate financial strategies. The company also warned that it will report a loss for the fiscal quarter ending on June 2. This came on the heels of report that states RIM is set to lay off a major chunk of its workforce.

Things at RIM are set to get worse before they get better. It seems nearly every week another high-placed executive is leaving the company. The RIM of the future (if there is a future for RIM) will look nothing like the RIM of the past.

I still believe RIM can recover. The company has a good chunk of the enterprise smartphone market and the products in the pipeline are very compelling. However, RIM needs to make it through these dark days first and hiring bankers is a good start.

Imagine if someone came out with a better Commie Obama hat.  Would we sit on our hands, or would we scramble to up-stage the new competitor?

Maybe a silk-lined Commie Obama hat?

Or a pink Commie Michelle Obama hat?

Why didn't RIM scramble back in 2006 when the iPhone rumors started?  No doubt the company's board meetings were full of "we're going to beat Apple" and "we're putting our smartest people on this" and "we'll leverage our market position to expand market share."  Blah Blah Blah.

RIM has lost 84% of its value since July 2007:


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