BMW + wacker = cars + base chemistry?

bmw's electric car for the summer olympics 1972

what have cars + base chemistry in common? not much, you think? well, both of them are majoritarian private owned companies (bmw by the quandt family, wacker by the wacker family) even if my employer BMW behaves as a management owned company (~ IMO we have self service mentality for mngmt and all higher employees ranks (i.e. few thousands of employees!), unfortunately not me :-() ...

the common part of these 2 AGMs? its the ultimate signal/sign that my this year's AGM season is over :-(

well, bmw didnt did well last year, but managed to produce a very small profit, so it could be worse in the very hard year 2009, isnt it? of course, they reduced the most salaries by at least 10% i think (my salary as well) to meet the reduced demand for cars. if you asked me, bmw is still wasting soooo much money on its higher ranks + consultants instead of motivate all its employees through achievement-oriented compensation (at ALL hierarchy stages, of course!) ... i believe, that should also mean they have to downgrade the salaries of folks who are working at positions far below their current salary groups ... for the sake of fairness :-)

what abt wacker, the € 4 billion chemical stuff producer (esp. silicones)? well, i think their earnings were just 15% below the former record marks last year ... i liked the conservative + familiar athmosphere there and the real (~not just spoken) sustainable growth + prosperity orientation :)

there was 1 more thing both companies have in common! the very, very strong financial results in Q1/2010 => lets hope for a better year 2010 even if  i dont think the last years 'financial crisis' is over ...

few pictures, lets start with bmw and lets hope my youngest daughter will help me 2 download the wacker pics from my mobile phone later/tomorrow (via bluethooth + her computer)

rolls royce, bmw, mini

me, test sitting in RR

factory, main administration building, museum

what a color! again an 'olympic' 1972 model as munich applies for the next winter olympics.

what a colors out there! me, looking outside of my office room instead of programming ... lol

what abt the last year's events? its easy, just follow these links: wacker + bmw.

addendum 05/24/2010: who's bigger and better? Audi (VW) or BMW?
well, at the moment seems audi to have much more success (esp. in terms of $$), in 2010 could bmw catch up a little bit as there are new models on the market (x1, 5, ...) and the fuel efficiency of the bmw fleet is better than its competitor's, but in the middle term will IMHO decide which brand will be able 2 produce environmentaly friendly cars (electric cars with battery/hydrogen power?) and as far as i know the former SAP director shai agassi in israel (in co-operation with renault) is going to win that race 😄

speaking in front of thousands of folks @AGM of allianz + attended AGM of linde

OMG! ive been speaking in front of thousands of folks @AGM of allianz 2day ... hell, i was not as nervous at the beginning of my speach as i thought i would be ... its strange + unbelievable, isnt it?

btw, the guy on the picture speaking out there is not me, of course ... its the very, very rational CEO michael diekmann (source: www.allianz.com)

what abt my topics?

• ive appreciated the great financial result (esp. the much higher dividend, LOL) despite the soooo difficult year 2009 (~the year of the well known financial crisis, u know?)
• pros & cons of share buy-back programs
• possible defaults of governments, government bonds + physical GOLD & SILVER as the ultimate no-default-currencies chosen by free markets over thousands of years of human civilization => i'm not going 2 change my attitude any time soon, u see?
• ive asked the AGM leader (=Chairman of the Supervisory Board Dr. Henning Schulte-Noelle) to stop speakers who asked stupid questions abt topics which are not on the agenda + not related 2 allianz + not related 2 economy (e.g. gender balance, iran, legal disputes concerning former allianz's subsidiaries) in order not 2 waste all other people's time (e.g. my time :-)
• a little bit more...

what abt the directors' answers? well, they are concerned abt the debt orgy out there and prolly even worried abt the possible defaults of governments, thus they are much less invested in government bonds than their competitors... why does allianz not invest in physical gold + silver? well, the 1st reason is the not existent interest yield, the 2nd explained reason is IMHO even more suspect: they are not allowed to! well, the german financial supervisory authority BaFin does not allow insurance companies like allianz 2 protect themselves and their customers with gold investments currently ... of course, who would buy government bonds otherwise?

good luck, my dear allianz group, good luck!

AGM @ linde group (may 4th, 2010)

well, there is everything fine @ linde, one of the leading suppliers of industrial gases + gas business technology, i think ;o). high profit + high dividend + lower debt + great Q1/2010 results + soooo optimistic outlook for remaining 3 quarters of 2010 that the great CEO wolfgang reitzle (~former 'just few weeks' CEO @BMW) expects even higher earnings + profits in 2010 than in the record year 2008 ...

the most interesting topic? well, the still very car industry affine reitzle answering a question abt electric cars told that the hydrogen car is not dead! he explained that there are 2 kinds of an electric car: the one with battery drive (~the current hype in the main stream media) and the hydrogen driven electric car => therefore the 'green' developments in the car industry support both technologies ... of course, linde is going to sell the hydrogen needed :o)

treasures of the kitchen ...

good luck, my dear linde group as well :-)