CSX Article - October TRAINS

October TRAINS has a lead article by Rush Loving Jr (author: "The Men Who Loved Trains"; written while Snowman was at the throttle) describing in very favorable terms the renaissance of CSX Transportation under Michael Ward's leadership, and for that matter, the exit of The Children's Fund.

I really have to hand it to TRAINS; I think the "sidebar" referencing The Children's Fund Investments activities is about as concise a piece written in lay terms as I have seen regarding that matter. So long as TCI held a substantial position, I was not going to hold same myself in CSX. As soon as I learned they were "adios", I took a position.

All told the article portrays Ward as the "second coming"; on one hand I'd like to think objective reporting is being put forth, but then another view could be these retired railfan-journalists (Frailey, Phillips, and now Loving) enjoy the access they receive so long as the propaganda is spewed..

The difference between the John Snow & Michael Ward days at CSX are the differences between a ever changing blizzard of bovine feces and a directed Spring breeze heading toward Summer.

I say this from a 40+ year position as both a management and craft employee of the company and it's predecessors.

mmi16 wrote:The difference between the John Snow & Michael Ward days at CSX are the differences between a ever changing blizzard of bovine feces and a directed Spring breeze heading toward Summer.

I say this from a 40+ year position as both a management and craft employee of the company and it's predecessors.

WELL SAID. (33 year CSX, and former SCL vet.)

Somehow I doubt if too many in "Frosty's Fan Club" around here will be shedding tears after reviewing this article appearing in Today's Wall Street Journal (subscription site):

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 24234.html

Brief passage

• Cerberus Capital Management LP, following setbacks from investments in Chrysler LLC and GMAC LLC, is re-focusing on lower-profile distressed companies, some of which are so small they can't raise money in the junk-bond market.
  
  New York-based Cerberus is trying to raise $3.75 billion for its first major investment fund since the financial crisis. That is half the size of its $7.5 billion fund Cerberus tapped in part to acquire Chrysler and GMAC, which were both hit hard by the economic downturn.
  
  The humbler approach by the well-known investment firm, named after the mythical three-headed dog that guards the gates of Hades, reflects broader challenges in a private-equity world in which investors are stingier with their cash....... In the past..well-known figures [were recruited] to Cerberus, such as former vice president Dan Quayle, former Treasury Secretary John Snow, and Robert Nardelli, former head of Home Depot Inc., who often assumed public roles for Cerberus.