Chicken Big Says ” the Sky is Rising, the Sky is Rising “

A cousin of Chicken Little, Chicken Big has long been annoyed by the family’s reputation for spreading bad news. This practice has kept the Chicken family in a low income bracket. More often than not bad news trumps good news everywhere including the business community.

So Chicken Big has gathered a series of good news stories to improve the families fortunes, keeping in mind that good news are in the eyes of the beholder.

He starts by recalling the 2007 maelstrom concerning the default of certain asset-backed commercial paper. Now penalties of sixty million dollars that were levied against five financial institutions will be paid to investors who bought the paper.

Chicken Big relates a very good news story about Honeywell International and how the company went from one of America’s most messed-up firms to one of the best. Strikingly, many of its main competitors are American-firms such as United Technologies, Johnson Controls and Emerson-reflecting the country’s strength in high-end manufacturing.

He follows with Iceland’s story.  Only three years ago it was in a bigger mess than Greece appears to be now. Yet Iceland is back in business. It has emerged as a result of the International Monetary Fund’s assistance program and realized a 2.7% Gross Domestic Product growth in 2011.

He applies a very stringent set of performance criteria to global corporations. Presently 161 companies pass the screen. Over a twelve year period this same screen has yielded a range of 140 to 200 companies or an average of 160. The corporate world is doing OK.

He finds recovery in Ireland.  Investors who purchased the country’s sovereign bonds are rewarded.  The rescue by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund has stimulated the economy and lowered bond yields.

He points out that The Ford Motor Company has achieved remarkable milestones including an increasing presence in emerging markets, a balanced product mix, and significantly reduced labor costs. The company now enjoys consistently high levels of profitability

The United Kingdom car and van mileage has fallen over the past four years, partly because of a slower economy, and partly a long-run trend. People are traveling less often. This is not restricted to Britain.  Concurrently trips in the United States have also declined. Since 2002 motor vehicle miles driven have remained flat.

Chicken Big and Chicken Little were talking at a recent family beef barbeque in an effort to reconcile their differences. Philosophically Cousin Little relies on forecasting while Cousin Big relies on current hard evidence in making prognostications. For now at least no reconciliation seems likely.

By the way, the answer to last week’s quiz, Name this Company is Molson Coors.