*As noted in the outro from March 2020's "What Fresh Hell Is This? "Windows 10 could start bullying people into using a Microsoft account to install" (MSFT; EVIL)":
When Dorothy Parker used the first half of the headline she meant it. See after the jump....
From Barron's, 2:24 pm EDT / Original July 07, 2026, 10:44 am EDT, July 7:
GE Vernova GEV -8.82% and other power generation equipment stocks— Caterpillar CAT -5.31% and Cummins —were taking a hit Tuesday after a downgrade of a competitor. The size of the Vernova move, however, shows just how nervous investors are about the AI tradeIn midday trading, shares of GE Vernova were off 9.9% at $1,038. Caterpillar and Cummins were both down—5.5% and 4.4%, respectively.
Cat announced it is acquiring mining services provider Skycatch, but that shouldn’t worry investors. And nothing of note is going on with Cummins. As for Vernova, there aren’t downgrades from Wall Steet analysts or updates from the company to blame for the drop.
The culprit is a downgrade of Siemens Energy, a German-based rival.
On Monday, Barclays downgraded Siemens Energy to Sell from Hold, according to FactSet. Barron’s hasn’t seen a copy of the report yet. The firm’s price target went up to €130 from €110.
The downgrade sent Siemens Energy down 7.7% in overseas trading.
A downgrade with the share price moving up tells investors what has been going on.
Despite the dip, Siemens Energy is up 31% this year and 66% over the past 12 months. GE Vernova is up 58% this year and 95% over the past 12 months.
Gains have left GE Vernova and Siemens Energy trading for about 40 and 28 times earnings expected over the coming 12 months, respectively.....
....MUCH MORE
It's on days like this that knowing the business underlying the stock is booking sales and earnings and cash flow is so important as a brake on emotional mayhem.
And Dorothy?
...When Dorothy Parker used the line I purloined as our intro, she...was...not...kidding.
From Quote Investigator:
...the testimony of journalist Vincent Sheean who was Parker’s friend: 1
“When it came time to leave the apartment to get a taxi, you could see this look of resolution come on her face,” he said. “Her chin would go up and her shoulders would go back; she would almost be fighting back fear and tears, as if to say to the world, ‘Do your worst; I’ll make it home all right.’ If the doorbell rang in her apartment, she would say, ‘What fresh hell can this be?’—and it wasn’t funny; she meant it.Quote Investigator has earlier uses by other people but the Parker is the one I knew of.
Additionally, Quora has a finance angle in one of their usages:
Of note, the quote “What fresh hell is this” is used in Vanity Fair, Volumes 43-45, Issue 6, page 41 - Condé Nast, 1935, article.“And so the doctor groaned and cursed as he awoke to the persistent ringing of the telephone beside his bed. He looked at his watch and noted that it was three a. m., before he picked up the receiver. "What fresh hell is this, George?" said Dr. Bonnard to the night clerk. "Can't tell you, Doc. Old man in 607 says he must have a doctor right away. Name is Fred Warren and he comes from Stapleton, Staten Island." "Some fat Yankee stock broker who thinks that fifteen-mile wind outside his window is another hurricane ...”Fat Yankee stockbrokers via Google books.Ms Parker's first husband, Edward Pond Parker II was a stockbroker.Her first published poem was in Vanity FairOn the day of her birth there were four active hurricanes in the Atlantic including the 1893 New York Hurricane which was skimming the New Jersey coast as she was being born on Ocean Avenue, Long Branch NJ.Weird.Also at the New York Post:
Again, that was written in March 2020. Remember March 2020?
There, I don't feel quite as crabby about the Teutonic bastards at Siemens Energy.
