Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Capital One Breaks It's hockey Stick

Capital One (NYSE:COF) needs to shake its head. Long known for their marketing prowess and finding more ways to hook consumers on plastic debt they now want you to look the other way as the CEO blows out a truck load of stock options and reduces his own personal exposure to Capital One.

At essentially the same time corporate press releases are issued saying that Capital One is using the Gretzky Concept in their business expansion. For the non hockey fan, and there may be many US investors who do not follow hockey, Gretzky was a phenomenal hockey player who had a sixth sense about where the puck was going.

Gretzky became a super star in the sport. Gretzky to the best of the hockey worlds collective memory never screwed the fans and was much beloved and respected by team mates and competitors. Richard Fairbanks you are no Gretzky.

The CEO of Capital One Richard D Fairbanks is only blowing smoke to cover up his huge insider sale. Richard Fairbanks is skating to where the puck is going. But on his stick he carries his own personal portfolio and he has chosen to sell massively. He is not skating to where Capital One will be going. Probably because he knows where the puck is going next.