tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235138415013046381.post2112898821119300080..comments2023-10-25T07:29:40.789-02:30Comments on UNCLE GNARLEY: NALCOR: THE 'BULLSHIT' STILL THRIVESDes Sullivanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02566013585647491614noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235138415013046381.post-8110408470659588692014-12-31T20:10:07.308-03:302014-12-31T20:10:07.308-03:30I have also been appalled by Martin's cavalier...I have also been appalled by Martin's cavalier references to how he is poorly managing our money. He seems to forget that he works for the public. He should have been forced to run for office. Such a high ranking civil servant would have to be elected to his position in the US. (There, even District Attorneys must run for office....not that the US model should be endorsed in its entirety. But in Martin's case, his is way to big for his britches.) His political appointment and connections stink more than the mink farms around the bay. I couldn't help notice a strategically planned communications manipulation in late November and in December in the form of 30 to 60-second TV ads with the Chief Operating Officer and other more junior officials clad in plaid and hardhats - all filmed in the field spewing memorized scripts taken right out an episode of the Waltons. Shucks, who would trust these hardworking blue collar know-it-alls? At least an internal acknowledgement that Ed Martin in "over exposed" and risks the same fate as Kathy Dumbderdale. Sadly, I doubt Premier Davis or his staff have the marketing smarts to recognize what it up. You can dress up the sow, but a hog is still a hog...and this one stinks. Where is the independent oversight board we were promised? Lost in the fog of Muskrat foul ups? The Fifth Estate should spend some time here researching the incestuous relationships which result in nauseating appointments like Ed Martin and his honchos. We really do live in a banana republic - one which has seen very competent lawyers and engineers leave for other provinces over the past decades.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235138415013046381.post-54068657267383688062014-12-09T20:41:22.298-03:302014-12-09T20:41:22.298-03:30Insightful post. Much of what you say about NL ha...Insightful post. Much of what you say about NL has been documented in other contexts. Interested readers looking for an excellent holiday book should buy a copy of John Cassidy, _How Markets Fail_. <br /><br />Jerry<br />Jerry Bannisterhttp://www.dal.ca/faculty/arts/history/faculty-staff/our-faculty/jerry-bannister.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235138415013046381.post-34697674435163441442014-12-08T09:10:24.204-03:302014-12-08T09:10:24.204-03:30A working capital asset is NOT a sunk cost; capita...A working capital asset is NOT a sunk cost; capital assets are valued at the lower of cost or market (usually cost for production assets). You do not put them aside, you amortize them. You must match your expenses to your revenues.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235138415013046381.post-45259882308330227212014-12-08T08:37:38.342-03:302014-12-08T08:37:38.342-03:30Ed Martin has been at the helm since 2005. Almost ...Ed Martin has been at the helm since 2005. Almost 9 years. In this time, despite investments of 4 times the annual revenue of the company, Nalcor make the same amount today (in real dollars) as what they made in 2005. Around 90 million per year in 2005 dollars. The rate of return on capital employed, or return on equity has consistently decreased. The debt to equity ration (despite some early improvements) is also now back to 2005 levels. Increasingly the money Nalcor makes is from the pockets of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. <br /><br />Yet Nalcor still spew the rhetoric of future divididends... future wealth that could only surpass our wildest dreams. Yet there is no detail, no numbers to back these facts up. <br /><br />Heck I would be happy with a rate of return, which considers the interest we are paying on the debt the province is taking on to make these equity investments. <br /><br />Meanwhile the NLH website shows our consumption at 1540 MW... and the 120 MW additional generator is not working yet. <br /><br />I am afraid the only solution is to make Nalcor a private company, listed on the TSX, with the province holding 50% of the shares. Let the IPO proceeds fund Gull. A publically traded company would keep Nalcor management accountable. Something 3 separate premiers now have been unable to do. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com