July 29th, 2008
Boo hoo: Pickens took a loss on Yahoo
T. Boone Pickens reportedly dumped his 10 million shares and ripped Yahoo management for its dealings with Microsoft. Hey, Mr. Pickens look in the mirror. It’s your loss and frankly you got what you deserved.
For the record, Pickens has a pretty interesting energy plan that might just work. And Pickens knows his oil. And he’s a billionaire while I’m a thousandaire. But let’s get real. Pickens botched this Yahoo investment bad and there’s no need to go whining to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Consider the following:
- Pickens admitted on CNBC he didn’t know much about Yahoo other than Carl Icahn bought in. Hmm. Most investment books I’ve read argue that you should invest in what you know. Pickens didn’t know jack about Yahoo.
- If I told you to buy a stock would you? Now Pickens followed Icahn. Is that such a bright idea? For starters, Icahn has a history of settling proxy fights. And then he gets stuck in bad investments sometimes–Motorola for instance. You’re also not supposed to take random stock tips. Maybe Pickens and Icahn are pals, but this Yahoo thing was a flier from day one.
- The market humbles everyone. Pickens took a loss and probably correctly blasted Yahoo’s board. But Pickens got caught in a bad trade. On the bright side, Pickens took his loss like a man, but probably could have acknowledged that it was his fault–not Jerry Yang’s or Roy Bostock’s.
Here’s a video of Pickens energy plan–a topic he knows much better than Yahoo.
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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