Just as we saw with the hubbub surrounding Harvey Weinstein and his predations, in Facebook we have an open secret that was convenient to ignore as long as the money was slopping around and the stock was heading up.
And nary a peep out of the Environmental, Social And Governance (ESG) crowd about how Facebook earns its money.
Everybody knew. Hell we've been posting on the privacy/security issues since the IPO (at $38) and there are a lot of smarter people who had even deeper insight but looked the other way as the stock went from the Sept. 4, 2012 bottom tick $17.55 (as the various lock-ups were expiring) to the $193 top-tick last month.
But now we've got everybody and their brother clutching their pearls and tut-tutting.
Here are a few lines from ZeroHedge's "Facebook Advertisers Start Pulling Out":
...Meanwhile, Facebook shares remain under rising pressure - falling approximately 8.6% in three trading sessions and down again on Thursday premarket as investors - particularly "ethical" investment funds - reconsider their decision to hold the increasingly radioactive company.*This is the second time in a week we've had Rico "Little Caesar" Bandello in the inro. to a post.
Nordea, the largest bank in the Nordic region, which manages about £283 billion (~$400 billion USD), said that it had put some of its Facebook investments in “quarantine” while it assessed the scandal. Union Investment, a German group that manages about £255 billion ($360 billion USD), said that it was reviewing its holding of Facebook shares. -The Times
I know Edward G. Robinson didn't add the "see" to his great line in The Ten Commandments: "Where's your Messiah now?"
But with Easter approaching the cross-wiring of the Robinson movies has begun. And it's not just me:
