GM's Ordinary Share Price, In Real Terms, Is Probably At The Lowest Point In The Company's History

Implications: GM is a zombie company; it is dead and being kept on life support by a reckless and feckless government.

Analysis: Using the calculator provided in "Lawrence H. Officer and Samuel H. Williamson, "Purchasing Power of Money in the United States from 1774 to 2007", Measuring Worth, 2008" one can determine that today's (Oct. 6, 2008) closing price, $8.48, for ordinary GM shares on the New York Stock Exchange was equivalent in 1954 dollars to less than $1.10. Nonetheless the financial pundits insist that today's closing price for GM's ordinary shares was the lowest since 1954. In fact if GM's ordinary shares were priced at $8.48 in 1954 it would take more than $66.00 of our 2008 dollars to buy one 1954 share.

Thus GM share's today are worth only 1/8 of what they were worth in 1954.

It is probably true that at no time in GM's history have its ordinary shares been worth less, in real terms, than they are today.

It is difficult to argue with the conclusion that the current management which has allowed the company's market capitalization to decline by 88% just since 2004 is, on that basis alone, the worst management that GM has ever had.

The fact that the Board of Directors has not dismissed the current GM management is only explicable by arguing that the Board is also the worst one that GM has ever had.

On the open market GM could not borrow any money at a rate at which it could repay the loan, because it is bankrupt.

The US government in its desperation has decided to risk or waste taxpayer dollars to keep GM in intensive care until a cure for stupidity and cupidity can be found.