While outlining the ridiculous spectacle of the last 24 hours news flow on JCPenney is useful for some, a step back to view this charade for what it is - a hedge fund manager massivley under-water, a company careening into bankruptcy, a board desperate to show it has any relevance, and a most senior creditor (Goldman Sachs) chomping at the bit to securitize the firm's T-Shirts and small appliances... the entire 'bounce' from yesterday has been retraced as Ackman and JCP's board fling insults at each other... JCPanic has been downgraded to JCPandemonium... on its way to JCPoof...
First this...
- *ACKMAN TELLS JCP NEW CEO SHOULD BE IN PLACE 30-45 DAYS:CNBC
- *QUESTROM TO CNBC: JCP BOARD ‘DOESN’T HAVE A SENSE OF URGENCY’
Then this...
- *J. C. PENNEY CO SAYS BOARD DISAGREES WITH ACKMAN :JCP US
- *JCPENNEY CHAIRMAN: ULLMAN RIGHT PERSON TO REBUILD COMPANY
and now this...
- *ACKMAN:JCP BOARD HAS CEASED TO FUNCTION EFFECTIVELY RECENT WKS
Bear in mind that credit markets throughout all of this have been serially unimpressed... 5Y CDS now at new record highs 1232bps (equivalent running) or ~70% probability of default...