Hous-

Walahi Walkitab, people truly need God. I believe this lecture by
Bilal Philips needs wide distribution. Please do yourself a favor and
grab a copy of that cd/cassette where he talks about stock-brokers
jumping through the windows.


yj






On Wed, Jan 7, 2009 at 10:30 PM,  <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> If you think times are hard , wait until you read this story. A German
> billionaire kill self because of financial loses. Isn't that something? Some
> revere money more than life. Sad indeed.
> hous
>
> FRANKFURT — Adolf Merckle, the German billionaire whose speculation in
> volatile Volkswagen stock had pushed his sprawling business empire to the
> edge of ruin, has committed suicide, his family said Tuesday.
>
>
> Reuters
>
> Adolf Merckle, 74, was ranked as the world's 94th richest person in 2008,
> according to Forbes magazine.
>
> Add to Portfolio
>
> Volkswagen AG
>
> Go to your Portfolio »
>
> Mr. Merckle, 74, was found dead on railroad tracks near his villa in the
> southern German hamlet of Blaubeuren on Monday evening. German authorities
> in the nearby city of Ulm confirmed the death and said there was no sign
> anyone else was involved.
>
> "The distress to his firms caused by the financial crisis and the related
> uncertainties of recent weeks, along with the helplessness of no longer
> being able to handle the situation, broke the passionate family businessman,
> and he ended his life," the family said in a statement.
>
> The police said a suicide note had been found; its contents were not
> publicly released.
>
> More than any other single investment, Mr. Merckle's poorly timed bet on
> Volkswagen shares caused the financial distress that led to his death.
>
> Last fall, Mr. Merckle lost hundreds of millions of euros when he was caught
> in a brief but ferocious speculative riptide linked to a campaign by
> Porsche, the sports car manufacturer, to seize control of Volkswagen. He was
> facing the dismantling of his empire and the sale of major holdings at the
> time of his death.
>
> Porsche announced late Monday — around the time Mr. Merckle was taking his
> own life — that it had acquired slightly more than 50 percent of Volkswagen
> shares, up from a 42.6 percent voting stake in October. Porsche has said it
> planned to buy 75 percent of Volkswagen during the course of the year, as it
> seeks more operating control of Europe's biggest carmaker.
>
> A native of Dresden who made his way to Western Germany after World War II,
> Mr. Merckle parlayed a family business in chemicals into one of the biggest
> pharmaceutical concerns in the world. Ratiopharm, a maker of generic
> medicines that was a recognized brand itself, became the pride of the
> family.
>
> Other businesses included Phoenix, a pharmaceutical wholesaler; and
> HeidelbergCement, a building materials supplier that in 2007 acquired a
> British rival, Hanson, to become a leading global player.
>
> Forbes estimated Mr. Merckle's fortune at $9.2 billion in 2008, making him
> No. 94 on its list of the world's richest people.
>
> The financial crisis began taking its toll on HeidelbergCement last year as
> the debt incurred to buy Hanson became more burdensome.
>
> Standard & Poor's lowered the company's credit rating as liquidity became
> scarcer in global market turmoil.
>
> In November, it became clear that Mr. Merckle had lost an amount of money in
> the "low hundreds of millions" by wagering that shares in Volkswagen would
> fall, a financial transaction known as short-selling.
>
> The bet had put him up squarely against a celebrated family, the Porsches.
> The sports car manufacturer from nearby Stuttgart was in the process of
> taking over Volkswagen.
>
> On Oct. 26, Porsche announced it had secured stock and options equivalent to
> about 75 percent of Volkswagen shares. Short-sellers, who borrow shares and
> sell them, hoping to buy them back later at a lower cost, were caught in a
> bind, since the revelation implied a shortage of VW shares to cover the
> short-selling.
>
> Intense demand caused VW shares to skyrocket to just over 1,000 euros
> ($1,260), from 210 euros in two trading sessions. That briefly made the
> automaker the world's most valuable company by market capitalization.
>
> Porsche subsequently sold some of its VW shares to ease the tension in the
> market, but not before the episode upset the weightings in Germany's
> benchmark DAX index and injured the country's reputation as a financial
> center, in the estimation of many investors.
>
> Volkswagen shares were up 12 percent on Tuesday, to close at 285 euros.
>
> For Mr. Merckle, the damage was more concrete.
>
> The last weeks of his life were spent wrangling with a consortium of banks
> for a bridge loan that would tide over his investment vehicle, VEM
> Vermögensverwaltung. It became increasingly clear that Mr. Merckle would
> have to sell part or all of Ratiopharm, widely regarded as his most
> attractive asset.
>
> The situation cost speculators in New York and London dearly, leading to a
> fair amount of schadenfreude in Germany, where financial trickery is looked
> upon with much disdain. Among the known short-sellers were two large hedge
> funds, Glenview Capital and Greenlight Capital.
>
> Germans were bewildered to discover that one of their own had also engaged
> in speculation, but their sympathy was not aroused.
>
> The Merckle family was based in the southern German state of
> Baden-Württemberg, home to many privately held companies that are
> heavyweights in their field. The governor of the state, Günther Oettinger,
> briefly considered guaranteeing a loan for Mr. Merckle, but quickly pulled
> back amid a public outcry.
>
> Mr. Oettinger said in a statement on Tuesday that he was "deeply shaken" by
> the news of Mr. Merckle's death. He lauded Mr. Merckle as a man who took his
> social responsibilities seriously while building up a family-owned business
> "of European significance."
>
> Like many wealthy German families, the Merckles were well known, but avoided
> the limelight, especially recently as the patriarch's financial distress
> deepened. Until recently, Mr. Merckle's son, Philipp Daniel, one of his four
> children, ran Ratiopharm.
>
> More Articles in Business » A version of this article appeared in print on
> January 7, 2009, on page B1 of the New York edition.
>
>
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-- 
yj

There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger.