Final Word from Thursday, April 2, 2015
Is there anything left to say about NWR? The story of how Zdeněk Bakala bought OKD mines for a song with the help of Bohuslav "Suitcase" Sobotka and lawyer Radek Pokorný is well known. Details of it are being reexamined in the media now, thanks to the criminal case against three insignificant foot soldiers who lent a hand in the privatization. The financial crisis helped to bring to light the way Bakala "legally tunneled" the OKD mines and apartments by loading up the companies with debt and paying out astronomic dividends. This is what made Bakala a dollar billionaire. NWR's stock plummeted in the process, reaching a record low yesterday of 32 hellers. Perhaps only a single glass bead can be bought for less money. At the current share price, NWR's top managers could purchase an unbelievable 4.4% of the company with their 2014 compensation. NWR is no laughing matter, but one tragicomic remark in conclusion. Several countries are facing negative interest rates; will NWR be the first listed company to have a negative share price? [Czech New World Resources coal]
Glossary of difficult words
last gasp - the point of exhaustion, death or completion;
"Suitcase" Sobotka - our nickname for him, which we first used in 2009;
to load up with - to burden with;
to plummet - to decrease rapidly in value; to fall or drop straight down at high speed;
compensation - the money received by an employee from an employer as a salary or wages;
listed (company) - traded on a stock exchange.