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To: Oeconomicus who wrote (142332)	5/17/2002 3:27:23 PM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

>> If he rode the bubble always fully margined and got out at the top<< No! G Kearney stayed too long, and now is in desperation mode. Las Vegas casinos love gamblers who stay too long.

To: Oeconomicus who wrote (142332)	5/17/2002 7:12:29 PM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

>>How I'm doing is none of your freakin' business. OK<< It's OK with me, but you and Bill "the secular pig" were the big promoters of EBITDA on this thread. Banish Ebitda. Companies hit the skids for all sorts of reasons, but it's one thing that ultimately kills them: They run out of cash. Yet most managers are too preoccupied with measures like Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, debt, and amortization) and return on assets to give cash much notice. Boards don't ask for it. Analysts don't analyze it. Corporate financial statements do typically include a statement of cash flow, but it's a crude snapshot that excludes off-balance-sheet items and doesn't show where the cash comes from. The solution is a detailed, easily readable cash-flow report. Give it to the board. Give it to employees. Break out cash flow by division, letting people track the company's blood flow themselves. Warren Buffett pays close attention to cash flow because, among other reasons, he knows cash is hard to fudge. That's why creative accountants hate it--and why you should learn to love it. No system survives for long without feedback and controls. So corporate America has a choice: It can implement these controls itself. Or it can wait for regulators and politicians to impose them. Which sounds better to you?