I took a look at five instances of companies acting silly last week. Wouldn't you know it? More companies are at it again this week. Let's take a look.
1. This will not look good on your photocopied resume
FedEx
2. Not another boy band, please
Record labels have had it with Baidu.com
3. Red, white, and greenback
Ben Bernanke has got the buck's back. Speaking at the International Monetary Conference in Spain on Tuesday, the Federal Reserve chairman argued that the free-falling dollar was having an unfavorable impact on import prices and consumer-price inflation. He also indicated that the Fed was done slashing rates, sending the dollar higher.
The move was only temporary, but when did the Fed start orchestrating currency valuations? Didn't that baton belong to the Treasury? It did, and Bernanke even said so earlier this year. I think I'll let my own dollar speak for itself, if only I could find it. I put it in my pocket a few months ago, but it has shrunk so much in that time that it's hard to find.
4. Any layman can see
Depending on when you look, Lehman Brothers
There is still speculation that the company may try to raise up to $5 billion in equity when it announces its quarterly earnings later this month. We'll cross that burning bridge when we get there, but Lehman is going to look silly for squandering money on a buyback if it's actually in need of liquidity. I'd toss a dollar into the offering basket, but I still can't find it. Man, it's small.
5. And the beat goes on
XM Satellite Radio
The "it" is the regulator's decision to approve or kill the controversial merger between the two satellite-radio companies. No matter where you stand in this argument, we can probably all agree that "soon" is a weightless word for an agency that has taken nearly 16 months to decide -- and counting.
I wouldn't want to trust the FCC with feeding my goldfish while I'm away. I certainly wouldn't want to stand behind it when the ice cream truck pulls up.