http://localtvkplr.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/twinkies.jpg?w=387

Hostess brands moves to wind down operations the headline says!

Citing ongoing labor disputes at diminished sales, Hostess says its losses are too big to keep running the company.  Hostess brands include staples of the American baked goods market such as Twinkies, Ho-Hos, Ding-Dongs, Drake's Devil Dogs and coffee cakes, and Wonder Bread.  Hostess has filed for Chapter 11 bankrupcy twice in three years.  Massive layoffs were in the works as management struggled with reorganization, but the directors say the new strike has forced their hand to liquidation. 

Hostess will soon begin to close down its bakeries and distribution centers and lay off 18,500 employees.  AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka blames crony capitalism, which inflates profits at the top at the expense of workers.  However, I put this on the Food Board, not the politics board, so enough said there.

It's strange to think of a world without Twinkies.  Hostess Brands are enmeshed in our consciousness of comestibles.  That's why I almost certain somebody will buy the brand name and continue to bake Twinkies, Ding-Dongs, Ho-Ho's, and so forth.  As the NYT article says, Hostess failed to find a buyer when it tried to sell a couple of years ago.  Hershey and Pepperidge Farms said no.  However, after liquidation, I think the price will be right.  There might be a gap in which Twinkies are hard to get, so stock up while you can.  See if they really do last forever!

:(

http://worldofpopculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/twinkies.jpg

I went to the Hostess/Wonder outlet down the street at about 1:30 this afternoon and the shelves were already about 85-90% empty. The Twinkies and Ho Ho's and Ding Dongs were long gone and the pickens were slim.

However, I did manage to score the very last two Lemon Fruit Pies, which were some of my favorite Hostess snacks.

Go to Ebay and you can bid on Twinkies.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?LH_BIN=1&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=twinkie&_sop=3

No more Wonder Bread!

Not for nothin' but I can't think of a thing I will miss.  There is a Hostess outlet less than a mile away, I went in once, walked out empty handed, nothing there I'd want to eat.

A few blasts from the past:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovh4pdkpF0Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9HN-smrkLc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QulcRiacqpE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5UPjQxWsU4&feature=related

RIP Twinkie the Kid & Fruit Pie the Magician. :(

Not for nothin' but I can't think of a thing I will miss.  There is a Hostess outlet less than a mile away, I went in once, walked out empty handed, nothing there I'd want to eat.


Same here.  I don't care.

They'll be back.  This is the only thing people on FB can talk about right now.  I'm sure in a couple of months there will be some sort of Twinkiepalooza Grand Re-Opening celebration.

::)

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/c46.0.403.403/p403x403/407710_552748264751919_1781327193_n.jpg

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/c46.0.403.403/p403x403/407710_552748264751919_1781327193_n.jpg


It's like Coca-Cola or M&M's disappearing...or the stars and the moon disappearing!  I just couldn't conceive of it happening!

Once in a blue moon I'll buy Hostess.  Usually an impulse grab at the gas station.  It's more childhood memories than current consumption.

The thing about Hostess Brands is they sell more air than anything else.  You can take a loaf of Wonder Bread and squish it into a fist-sized wad!

http://www.websophist.com/Wonder_Bread_BraM.jpg

The thing about Hostess Brands is they sell more air than anything else.  You can take a loaf of Wonder Bread and squish it into a fist-sized wad!

http://www.websophist.com/Wonder_Bread_BraM.jpg



Wonderbra...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ux1_XdF9aQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h81VGWQip4k

People are going to be saying that the scriptwriters of Zombieland predicted this. 

I'll miss Wonder bread. Oh and cherry pies, but Lord the calories in those suckers.  I only had them once every four months or so as a treat.  No wonder they are going out of business.  ;D

It's sad that so many will lose their jobs.  I remember driving past the bakery in a nearby town where I grew up and the smell of fresh baked bread was intoxicating. 

Go to Ebay and you can bid on Twinkies.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?LH_BIN=1&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=twinkie&_sop=3



that's ridiculous.....10,000,000 for twinkies...  ::)   

even the boxes at $5 have no bids  ;D

I'll miss Wonder bread. Oh and cherry pies, but Lord the calories in those suckers.  I only had them once every four months or so as a treat.  No wonder they are going out of business.  ;D

It's sad that so many will lose their jobs.  I remember driving past the bakery in a nearby town where I grew up and the smell of fresh baked bread was intoxicating.


I think all your favorite Hostess snacks will be back.  I can't imagine there isn't a market for them.  After all, they're legalizing pot, right?
8)

No more Wonder Bread!



that makes me sad... I love wonder bread!

I think all your favorite Hostess snacks will be back.  I can't imagine there isn't a market for them.  After all, they're legalizing pot, right?
8)


I heard that there is a company, can't remember the name and am too lazy to look it up, who is looking into buying the brand.  I don't think twinkies, etc, are going anywhere.  Unfortunately it doesn't help those without a job. 



that makes me sad... I love wonder bread!



I know, right?  It's the best.

that makes me sad... I love Wonder Bread!


The wonder is they get to call it bread  ::)

The wonder is they get to call it bread  ::)


What does that even mean? 

What does that even mean?


I guess because because of the texture/density of it and the fact that lasts longer than 'bread' some people judge.

I think it's amazing the way you can roll it in to a ball and not wind up with a mass of crumbs and bread remnants.  :o

It's soft, fluffy and smells great and it tastes yummy.

Wish I had a loaf with a jar of Jif right now!!!!

No one will be able to use the Twinkie defense anymore.



Cat

What does that even mean?


Just what I said.  Wonder Bread seems to be to be 99% air.  We used to use Wonder Bread when I was a kid, but every once in a while my mother used to bake bread and it was such a treat. Then I started buying whole grain, mostly rye or multigrain, now I can't stand to have Wonder Bread in my mouth let alone my stomach.

Hostess is still staying alive in Canada.  If these ever went away, I would cry ...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d6/Hostess_Potato_Chips.jpg

It's sad that so many will lose their jobs.  I remember driving past the bakery in a nearby town where I grew up and the smell of fresh baked bread was intoxicating.

Whats so more messed up is that, of course, the CEO of Hostess and the other executives awareded themselves a raise of 300% evem while prepairing for bankruptcy.
For the CEO, his salary went from $750,000 to $2,550,000 this year! They were fully aware that the company was failing and bumped up their salary despite the financial sitauation. Other executive-types did the same.

Yeah, right, so they couldn't afford to give those workers the same pay (they weren't asking for a raise, just not wanting to take a cut in pay remember)...but the executives of the company could afford to pump up their already wealthy pocketbook?!

Same old story.. ::).

I'm not really going to miss Hostess that much, wasn't ever really my thing, but I'm hoping they are around so that the executives can get beat down with twinkies by a mob of unemployed Hostess bakers. 8)

No one will be able to use the Twinkie defense anymore.


'xactly what I was thinking!
;)

Whats so more messed up is that, of course, the CEO of Hostess and the other executives awarded themselves a raise of 300% evem while prepairing for bankruptcy.
For the CEO, his salary went from $750,000 to $2,550,000 this year! They were fully aware that the company was failing and bumped up their salary despite the financial sitauation. Other executive-types did the same.


http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqpols2tq81qzn07q.jpg

The company was a clusterfark of an amalgamation of regional brands and incompatible union contracts.  Managed by private equity, it was also a clusterfark of competing agendas, some of which may well have been to shaft the existing shareholders in order to benefit the bondholders who would come out as the new asset-holders post-bankruptcy, even if everyone meant well. 

Things like this are why I believe defined contribution plans beat "pensions".  When private equity bought out Hostess Brands, they borrowed money to assume the pension debt from the first 2004 bankruptcy proceedings.  Now that they can no longer make payments on that debt, they went with Plan B: renege on it like they probably should have done in 2004, but didn't.  The pension obligations were always there, even though the money to fund the pension was never there.  At least with a 401(k), you have to choose to be exposed to the market in order for a stock market crash to turn it into a 201(k).  With a pension, the money's invested in the same markets as your 401(k) might have been, and it's exposed to the same market risks.  The difference is that a pension's value is contingent on the continued existence and functioning of your former employer over a 20-40-year timeframe, which I'd think by now we all know is a laughable fiction.

http://fortuneaskannie.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/hostess_bankrupt_twinkie.jpg

Your union organizer is lying when he says he can get you a "guaranteed" pension, the same way your stockbroker is also lying when he says all you have to do is buy-and-hold and dollar-cost-average, even during the hard times.  There are no guarantees, and the only exit strategy you can trust is the one you make for yourself.

http://www.nohighscores.com/wp-content/uploads/old-images/todd/zombieland_rule22.jpg

So enjoy the little things.

Little things like, if you were sympathetic towards Romney because of his business acumen, enjoy the fact that a company taken over and levered up by a private equity fund in 2004, only to go bankrupt in 2012, waited until after the election to call it quits.

Little things like, if you're a Democrat, the fact that the PE firm that saved them in 2004 was Ripplewood Holdings, owned by Tim Collins, a Democratic-leaning capitalist-philanthropist, who got into Hostess with the help of Dick Gephardt (D-Teamsters) and his consulting group.

http://www.zombielandrules.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombieland-rule-8.jpg

Normally that level of political patronage would be enough to get any company over the hump, but when the money runs out, Rule 8 isn't enough either. 

http://www.cleverdonkey.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombieland-rule-number-one-cardio-300x207.jpg

There are no winners here.  Just remember, you don't have to outrun the bear; you just have to outrun the other guy.  So, cardio.  And after that, remember that you can’t spend all your time worrying about where your next Twinkie is going to come from, so follow Rule 32 and enjoy the little things.

Little things like the fact that Mother's Cookies came back after 2008.  And something like that is where your next Twinkie will be coming from.  But trust me on the cardio.

Well, got the last chocolate pie at work tonight.

The only thing I'll really miss are some of the pies.

I ain't gonna take Foob's bait about pensions versus 401(k)'s.
:-X

Suffice to say I don't think it's because Americans would rather eat Mama Obama's Organic Nut Clusters.  I think it's the shabby business practices Foo Bar was alluding to that ran Hostess Brands into the ground.  Nothing to do with lack of customers.  So, the good news is there's a market for our iconic cheapass pastries 300 million strong.  To paraphrase Glengarry Glen Ross, a man does not enter the 7-11 lest he wants to buy.  They're sitting out there waiting to give you their money. Are you gonna take it? Are you man enough to take it?  You know what it takes to sell Twinkies?  It takes BRASS BALLS to sell Twinkies!

http://heyuguys.co.uk/images/2012/10/Glengarry-Glen-Ross.jpg

Ding-Dongs are for closers only!

Well, got the last chocolate pie at work tonight.

The only thing I'll really miss are some of the pies.


I have one lemon pie and one chocolate pudding pie left.

I hadn't had a Hostess Fruit Pie in a long time, but I wish I could have gotten a couple cherry pies before the end.  :(

I have one lemon pie and one chocolate pudding pie left.

I hadn't had a Hostess Fruit Pie in a long time, but I wish I could have gotten a couple cherry pies before the end.  :(


I haven't had a cherry pie in a while either.

I just found a loaf of Wonder Smart White bread at the store....got a jar of jif too.  I'm so happy.

Just what I said.  Wonder Bread seems to be to be 99% air.  We used to use Wonder Bread when I was a kid, but every once in a while my mother used to bake bread and it was such a treat. Then I started buying whole grain, mostly rye or multigrain, now I can't stand to have Wonder Bread in my mouth let alone my stomach.


I will second this.  I don't consider Wonder bread to be "real" bread.  I remember eating it sometimes as a kid, but not very often.  My mom made bread - she was old school like that.  Thank the Lord.

I will second this.  I don't consider Wonder bread to be "real" bread.  I remember eating it sometimes as a kid, but not very often.  My mom made bread - she was old school like that.  Thank the Lord.





It's a different kind of bread.  It's like mcD's ketchup you don't want o put it on everything but you want it when you eat McD's  ;D

It's a different kind of bread.  It's like mcD's ketchup you don't want o put it on everything but you want it when you eat McD's  ;D






You gotta love bread that when the bagger puts the eggs on top of it, it just pops back to its original shape. ;D

I haven't had a cherry pie in a while either.


Tastes so good make a grown man cry.
8)

You gotta love bread that when the bagger puts the eggs on top of it, it just pops back to its original shape. ;D





That totally happened to me.  Threw my wallet and cell into the bag...on the bread and "Oh no....meh it's wonder bread. It'll bounce back" and it did  :D

Same here.  I don't care.

They'll be back.  This is the only thing people on FB can talk about right now.  I'm sure in a couple of months there will be some sort of Twinkiepalooza Grand Re-Opening celebration.

::)


I'll third the not caring. :D  I used to LOVE their cupcakes.  Bought some a year or so back.  Lord, they were nasty.  I don't know if it is because my palate has changed or if they screwed up their recipe, but man.  Ew.  Never again.

And I've always hated Twinkies, so that's not a loss for me. :P

My mother was no bread maker, but really... I couldn't see making a sandwich out of homemade bread anyway.  Too many air holes and my stuff would fall through.

I love wonder bread.  This has us more upset than the whole "cake" line of hostess going under.  We are concerned for our red, yellow and blue ballooned bag of wonder bread.

My plain turkey and bread sandwich smashed will never be the same.  :\'(

My mother was no bread maker, but really... I couldn't see making a sandwich out of homemade bread anyway.  Too many air holes and my stuff would fall through.

I love wonder bread.  This has us more upset than the whole "cake" line of hostess going under.  We are concerned for our red, yellow and blue ballooned bag of wonder bread.

My plain turkey and bread sandwich smashed will never be the same.  :\'(


Buck up, little camper.  They're in talks to keep Hostess alive. ;D

that's ridiculous.....10,000,000 for twinkies...  ::)   

even the boxes at $5 have no bids  ;D


I know right?! Only in America... ;D

To be honest, never really gave a damn about Twinkies, but I remember loving Wonder Bread until my mom stopped buying it and went for healthier options. Haven't had Wonder Bread in years now that I think about it. :o

I know right?! Only in America... ;D

To be honest, never really gave a damn about Twinkies, but I remember loving Wonder Bread until my mom stopped buying it and went for healthier options. Haven't had Wonder Bread in years now that I think about it. :o


Smart white wonder bread only 50 calories a slice O0

I don't think I ever ate a Twinkie before.

I don't think I ever ate a Twinkie before.


Try one, you will find out you were right not to.

Try one, you will find out you were right not to.


Can someone lend me a thousand bucks so I can buy one on ebay and try it?  ;D ;D
I'm kidding.

Ain't you heard?  There not going away, of course they may be out of stock, but they are back at the bargaining table, court ordered mediation.

I don't think I ever ate a Twinkie before.


I disagree with Danoota here. I recommend you try one.  They're very sweet, bland, smooth, and airy.  Very artificial but strangely familiar at once.  What if men from the moon made sponge cakes?  That's a Twinkie.  I probably eat a 2-pack once a year on average.  They're real bad for you and the novelty fades fast.
8)

Twinkies are not going anywhere-much to those people who are selling them for $8,000 on eBay dismay. Whether Hostess will be or not-the twinkie will be sold to some other company-hopefully one who knows how to manage it better.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45755822/ns/msnbc-the_ed_show/#49894113



Cat

Skim Milk...REALY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFgctTZ2XII

Ain't you heard?  There not going away, of course they may be out of stock, but they are back at the bargaining table, court ordered mediation.


No, I didn't hear that. Still, I'll pass on them.
My favorite were these.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kUUj8GbGGKo/R5eifcw-8pI/AAAAAAAAAKM/kXOKucrq-rY/s400/JosLouis.jpg

I don't know if those are or were available in the USA.

Smart white wonder bread only 50 calories a slice O0
Been afraid to try it, for fear of messing up the wonder!  Is it sandwich sliced???  I like the square bread not the loaf shaped slices!

No, I didn't hear that. Still, I'll pass on them.
My favorite were these.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kUUj8GbGGKo/R5eifcw-8pI/AAAAAAAAAKM/kXOKucrq-rY/s400/JosLouis.jpg

I don't know if those are or were available in the USA.
Looks like a moon pie!

Smart white wonder bread only 50 calories a slice O0


I really hate the healthy white wonder bread, I just doesn't taste right to me.  I'd rather just not have any bread at all, just eat the filling.  Maybe it was just the Whole Grain White that I didn't like.
http://sbaileyillustration.com/Portfolios/food%20&%20product/Wonder%20Bread.jpg

I really hate the healthy white wonder bread, I just doesn't taste right to me.  I'd rather just not have any bread at all, just eat the filling.  Maybe it was just the Whole Grain White that I didn't like.
http://sbaileyillustration.com/Portfolios/food%20&%20product/Wonder%20Bread.jpg
Seee. This is what scares me!  Please do not disappoint me with my wonder bread!

I really hate the healthy white wonder bread, I just doesn't taste right to me.  I'd rather just not have any bread at all, just eat the filling.  Maybe it was just the Whole Grain White that I didn't like.
http://sbaileyillustration.com/Portfolios/food%20&%20product/Wonder%20Bread.jpg



http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-smQ-u8L3BaI/Txq5eKHpM1I/AAAAAAAAAe8/VGjsBHaEuto/s1600/smart+bread.jpg




This is the stuff I eat. I like it!  :)

No, I didn't hear that. Still, I'll pass on them.




Looks like the mediation didn't work.  They'll be selling out, but others are in the wings to buy the brand.

Looks like the mediation didn't work.  They'll be selling out, but others are in the wings to buy the brand.



I just hope these CEOS do not get those big bonuses.  >:( >:( >:(



Cat

Looks like the mediation didn't work.  They'll be selling out, but others are in the wings to buy the brand.


Ha! I'll wait for the others to buy the brand, probably will happen too.

I'll still pass on trying one and stick with my Jos Louis. 

I just hope these CEOS do not get those big bonuses.  >:( >:( >:(



Cat


Don't worry...THEY WILL.
https://camo.phpbb.com/c0c4d90e21ad50f498b5209bdbbc0e645da8c9f8/687474703a2f2f696d616765732e7a61617a752e636f6d2f696d672f766f6d69742d6769726c2d766f6d69742d70756b652d7369636b2d736d696c65792d656d6f7469636f6e2d3030303635312d6c617267652e676966

Performance-based pay is for teachers not execs! --

Even as it blamed unions for the bankruptcy and the 18,500 job losses that will ensue, Hostess already gave its executives pay raises earlier this year. The salary of the company’s chief executive tripled from $750,000 to roughly $2.5 million, and at least nine other executives received pay raises ranging from $90,000 to $400,000. Those raises came just months after Hostess originally filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

Even as it blamed unions for the bankruptcy and the 18,500 job losses that will ensue, Hostess already gave its executives pay raises earlier this year. The salary of the company’s chief executive tripled from $750,000 to roughly $2.5 million, and at least nine other executives received pay raises ranging from $90,000 to $400,000. Those raises came just months after Hostess originally filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.


CEO: 1 big suit * $1.75M raise.
Others: 9 small suits * $250K (midpoint between $100K-400K)
Total: $4M in raises once, but they don't get a $1.75M/$250K raise every year thereafter.

But let's try it your way and spread the wealth: $4,000,000/18,500 employees = $216/employee per year.

If you're earning $25000 and willing to strike over something that could, at most, add 1% of your wage once (that is, if you were getting the rate of inflation, you'd get rate-of-inflation+1% once, not rate-of-inflation+1%-for-5-years-in-a-row), you'd better hope that the strike is over in two days, or you're losing money on the proposition.

If your company is on the verge of bankruptcy as it takes in $2.5B in revenue (selling 2500 million worth of cupcakes), the 4 million skimmed off the top by the top ten wasn't going to make any difference one way or another insofar as the bondholders were concerned.  The company was dead whether or not the management skimmed off a golden parachute for the sake of trying to save it.  (That doesn't make management's actions morally excusable - it merely makes them irrelevant.  The 18,500 jobs were already lost either way.  Ship's going down either way along with 18,490 hands.  Unlike the unwritten law of the sea, in business, the only reason anyone signs on for duty on the bridge crew is that the bridge crew gets to be first to the lifeboats.  Like I said, there are no winners here.)


Can someone lend me a thousand bucks so I can buy one on ebay and try it?  ;D ;D
I'm kidding.


"Sure!  Let me borrow $1000 from your pension fund!  You know I'm good for it because I'm pretty sure I can buy a Twinkie for $1000 of your money, sell that Twinkie for $1001 tomorrow, buy another for $999 the day after tomorrow, send you that Twinkie instead, and pocket the extra $2!" :)

But seriously, I'm with Maxwell and what he said about trying one while you can.  Not worth $1000, but as the prices return to normalcy, you should try any of the Hostess products.  They're all basically the same texture and mouthfeel, except for the addition/presence of cocoa (chocolate) or a couple of fruit flavorings.

A Twinkie is the base dough with cream filling.  A Zinger is a twinkie with some sugar on top.  A Sno Ball is the same thing but covered in marshmallow fluff and coconut flakes.  If you add cocoa to the yellow dough and a layer of chocolate icing on top of it, you have the chocolate zinger, if you make it cupcake-shaped and use a different icing, you get a Hostess Cupcakes, if you make it into a hockey puck and layer it in chocolate, you get a Ding Dong (Drake's: Ring Dings), if you roll it into a tube, you get a Ho-Ho (Drake's: Yodels), etc. etc. etc.

Are they great?  Are they healthy?  No on both counts, but if you haven't eaten at least one burger at McDonald's or Burger King, you can't claim to know the first thing about hamburgers.  Likewise, if you've not eaten a Hostess product, you can't claim to know your sugary desserts.  Go find some - the prices are already returning to normal - and if the company ceases operations, wait a few months, and they'll be back.  Then eat one and marvel at what you almost missed.  Anyone can bake healthier.  Most can bake healthier and tastier.  Anyone can buy healthier, tastier, and prettier. 

But nobody can bake or buy something exactly the same as the original.  Enjoy, as Tallahassee said, the little things.


Looks like a moon pie!


Now I've gotta go back to Canuckistan and get me some Vachon confections.  They're going to be pretty damn close, but it's been decades since I've had their variations on snack cakes, and I don't want to commit to telling the guy they're identical.  He's definitely on the right track, though.  They're the guys making the Canadian version of Twinkies, and I don't believe their production runs have been interrupted.  (Can anyone close to the border with an appropriately-sized stash confirm whether early-2010s Canadian Twinkies are the same as US Twinkies?)

Don't worry...THEY WILL.
https://camo.phpbb.com/c0c4d90e21ad50f498b5209bdbbc0e645da8c9f8/687474703a2f2f696d616765732e7a61617a752e636f6d2f696d672f766f6d69742d6769726c2d766f6d69742d70756b652d7369636b2d736d696c65792d656d6f7469636f6e2d3030303635312d6c617267652e676966

Performance-based pay is for teachers not execs! --

Even as it blamed unions for the bankruptcy and the 18,500 job losses that will ensue, Hostess already gave its executives pay raises earlier this year. The salary of the company’s chief executive tripled from $750,000 to roughly $2.5 million, and at least nine other executives received pay raises ranging from $90,000 to $400,000. Those raises came just months after Hostess originally filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.


Few things piss me off more than seeing people getting handsomely rewarded for f**king up, especially in such spectacular fashion.

"Goddammit Jenkins, you've really screwed the pooch this time! Since you've been CEO, our stock is down 50%, our market share is down 30%, and we've had to lay off 9,000 people this year. You stupid, stupid a$$hole! Here! Here's your severance pay of 20 million dollars, now get the f**k out of here!"  ::)

http://assets.amuniversal.com/bd199df0160e0130ff06001dd8b71c47?width=750.0



Cat

CEO: 1 big suit * $1.75M raise.
Others: 9 small suits * $250K (midpoint between $100K-400K)
Total: $4M in raises once, but they don't get a $1.75M/$250K raise every year thereafter.

But let's try it your way and spread the wealth: $4,000,000/18,500 employees = $216/employee per year.



On principle, no salary increases or bonuses while the company is in negation for receivership.  I didn't say pass around a couple hundred to all the boys, though it might be nice as xmas is right around the corner.  I admit, my knowleged of business procedures fails me here, but there must be a way to freeze assets in escrow until they can be reinvested in the company later. 

I admit I haven't thought this out with a pencil and paper, but they way their doing it reminds me of Mel Brooks as "Gov" in Blazing Saddles.
::)

On principle, no salary increases or bonuses while the company is in negation for receivership.  I didn't say pass around a couple hundred to all the boys, though it might be nice as xmas is right around the corner.  I admit, my knowleged of business procedures fails me here, but there must be a way to freeze assets in escrow until they can be reinvested in the company later. 

I admit I haven't thought this out with a pencil and paper, but they way their doing it reminds me of Mel Brooks as "Gov" in Blazing Saddles.
::)


Either you guys fix Hostess Brands or it's the supreme reign of Little Debbie!

Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!

http://www.elsiehui.com/photos/little_debbie_swiss_rolls_public_w1280_h960.JPG

Oh you howl now and tell me it's a crme aganst humanity.  But Little Debbie has been waiting for this  and biding their time.  They been keepin' the flour dry for just such an event.  Welcome to the New Fat Order!
This winter you will wooooo you special lady or special fella with BE MY VALENTINE:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y_UuQhuk7aQ/TztHX0JXZLI/AAAAAAAABE8/Az103t0KJ2k/s1600/IMG_0218.JPG

Then the teachers at Lake Wobegon pass the slily discount bakery good around to eachothr, only there pornographic messages dripped on the pastry, says, "Is it politie to officer  a lady a Tipperilllo."  So i ask the little Indian dude what the white man give him to regain his sexual prowess. I been kcufing that Rasputin character who always wins at chess and fights like the devil for his friends.  Rasputin is he answer, not selling our dwindling natural resources to some idiots so thy can squander all of our shI\@t in the next five years.  Rasputin is he man!  Rasputin! Rasputin' Rasputin!  OK, now when Raspuin do get here don't piss him for not solving all your problems all at once.  Do tell him about the bard harvests the  shortened mill hours, and the mine country that the Crown claims as his own.  Raspitun has it all in time.  He will return your gravy ladle he end fear not!!!!

On principle, no salary increases or bonuses while the company is in negation for receivership.  I didn't say pass around a couple hundred to all the boys, though it might be nice as xmas is right around the corner.  I admit, my knowleged of business procedures fails me here, but there must be a way to freeze assets in escrow until they can be reinvested in the company later. 

I admit I haven't thought this out with a pencil and paper, but they way their doing it reminds me of Mel Brooks as "Gov" in Blazing Saddles.
::)


There's a bit of the Mel Brooks aspect here - on paper, the execs are being rewarded for trying, even though they failed, but I'd be the first to say they're basically stealing the silverware on their way out the door.  It's not right, but that doesn't mean it would have changed the outcome.  If an extra $4M was all that was needed to make a business with $2.5B ($2500M) in revenue a viable proposition, they could have offered stock and gotten cash in exchange for a stake in the company, or floated some bonds and taken a loan.  They probably shopped both ideas around, and got no takers, because if they had any takers, they'd have taken the offer.  Hostess Brands had fundamental problems that made it a nonviable business.  It was dead whether or not the unions made the concessions. 

The present group of speculators has been wiped out, and has nothing to show for it beyond a couple of place settings ripped off before the last guy there turned out the lights.  Now it's the turn of the next group of speculators to see if they can revive the corpse.

One issue on which we might be talking past each other is the definition of "wiped out".  If I buy a stake in 26 companies (from $AAA through $ZZZ), and $FFF goes bankrupt, I've been "wiped out" in my investment in $FFF.  But if it's only 1/26th of my portfolio, a 100% loss in $FFF means I've only lost 3.8% of my wealth.  I shrug, glue my worthless $FFF stock certificate onto a dinner plate and affix a crossed knife/fork/spoon beneath it as a reminder of my foolishness, and move on to the next play.  The former employees of $FFF, not so much.  That sucks, but what was I to do?  I wanted to make $FFF Foods a multigazillion dollar business, but the only market interested in rainbow-colored horse-flavored cupcakes were the Bronies, and there just weren't enough of them to make it work.

Does anybody know what I was talking about in re: Rasputin?  I've got noooo clue.  Was I even wearing pants?
:o

Does anybody know what I was talking about in re: Rasputin?  I've got noooo clue.  Was I even wearing pants?
:o


Probably something like this.

http://s10.postimage.org/5vq9ipfgp/f80.jpg

Mashed up with something like that.

http://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/2010/6/6/129203484668118090.png

It happens to all of us, dude.

Woody.

http://i.imgur.com/kYxHH.jpg

I have one Hostess Lemon Fruit Pie left, and I'm going to save it for my birthday two days from now.

I get the feeling that they're never going to make them again.  :-\\

I have one Hostess Lemon Fruit Pie left, and I'm going to save it for my birthday two days from now.

I get the feeling that they're never going to make them again.  :-\\


Would you take $50 for it?
???

Does anybody know what I was talking about in re: Rasputin?  I've got noooo clue.  Was I even wearing pants?
:o


^ I'll have some of whatever you're having.  :D

If I hit the Powerball, I'll buy Hostess.

As I said before, not really a Hostess fan, BUT...I live in PA and as all of you in the mid Atlantic states know, we have TASTYKAKE!  8)

http://www.cheesesteaktown.com/graphics/tastykakes/Tastykakes-1.jpg

We'll do just fine without Hostess.  ;)

I never liked Twinkies that much to be honest.

I never liked Twinkies that much to be honest.


Same.

It does bring back memories of one of my Halloween parties though.

I will miss Hostess donuts and muffins.

Same.

It does bring back memories of one of my Halloween parties though.

I will miss Hostess donuts and muffins.


I'll miss their cupcakes.  :\'(

As I said before, not really a Hostess fan, BUT...I live in PA and as all of you in the mid Atlantic states know, we have TASTYKAKE!  8)

http://www.cheesesteaktown.com/graphics/tastykakes/Tastykakes-1.jpg

We'll do just fine without Hostess.  ;)


They started stocking the TASTYKAKE brand in my store here in Indiana to fill the void of Hostess products recently.

Would you take $50 for it?
???


Just ate it.

Just ate it.


Well that adds considerable depreciation...
:o

Well that adds considerable depreciation...
:o


That's OK. After I win the Powerball tomorrow and buy Hostess and get things up and running again, I'll make sure and send you a whole pallet of Hostess Fruit Pies.  8)

Just like I thought.  The bankruptcy court let the execs ride into the sunset with their fat bonuses and the 18 thousand workers got screwed.  Hostess Brands has a hundred potential buyers.  I'm boycotting all that sh*t for life.
>:(

Just like I thought.  The bankruptcy court let the execs ride into the sunset with their fat bonuses and the 18 thousand workers got screwed.  Hostess Brands has a hundred potential buyers.  I'm boycotting all that sh*t for life.
>:(


If I were going to go into the cupcake business, why would I buy Hostess out two months ago and take upon myself the liabilities of the pension plans, when I could wait a few weeks for it to go bankrupt, and then buy what's left (the part without the pension liabilities!) from the court's trustee?

Phrased another way, there weren't a hundred potential buyers, unless by "buyers", you mean people who said "If I were to take on the pension liabilities of pre-bankruptcy Hostess, the present owners would have to pay me to take it off their hands".

Human-sized analogy:  Suppose you're broke, but have a steady $50K/year job but know a cute chick with another $50K job, but she's $500K in debt.  Her $50K/year job earns her $40K/year after taxes, but between her student loans, mortgage, and the credit cards she's racked up to pay the interest on the student loans and the mortgage, she's paying $50K/year in interest expense alone, so not only is she half a million in debt, she's losing $10K/year even after working full time.  (Her dad's last name isn't "Bernanke", which means she can't simply print her own money the way her Uncle Sam does whenever his finances run tight.)

Should you (a) Marry her today, taking on $500K in debt, for which you're now liable?  Or (b) Wait a month, let her hand over the keys to the bank and declare personal bankruptcy, thereby sticking the bank and the credit card company with the loss, and only then do marry her, which means the newly-merged entity gets to start off as a double-income-no-kids family earning $100K/year?  (Her dad's last name isn't "Bernanke", so there's no option (c) :)

If I were going to go into the cupcake business, why would I buy Hostess out two months ago and take upon myself the liabilities of the pension plans, when I could wait a few weeks for it to go bankrupt, and then buy what's left (the part without the pension liabilities!) from the court's trustee?

Phrased another way, there weren't a hundred potential buyers, unless by "buyers", you mean people who said "If I were to take on the pension liabilities of pre-bankruptcy Hostess, the present owners would have to pay me to take it off their hands".

Human-sized analogy:  Suppose you're broke, but have a steady $50K/year job but know a cute chick with another $50K job, but she's $500K in debt.  Her $50K/year job earns her $40K/year after taxes, but between her student loans, mortgage, and the credit cards she's racked up to pay the interest on the student loans and the mortgage, she's paying $50K/year in interest expense alone, so not only is she half a million in debt, she's losing $10K/year even after working full time.  (Her dad's last name isn't "Bernanke", which means she can't simply print her own money the way her Uncle Sam does whenever his finances run tight.)

Should you (a) Marry her today, taking on $500K in debt, for which you're now liable?  Or (b) Wait a month, let her hand over the keys to the bank and declare personal bankruptcy, thereby sticking the bank and the credit card company with the loss, and only then do marry her, which means the newly-merged entity gets to start off as a double-income-no-kids family earning $100K/year?  (Her dad's last name isn't "Bernanke", so there's no option (c) :)


Well, no duh.  Nobody was going to buy the company before the courts bailed it out.  I'm just saying Hostess management ran the company into the ground three times, made no improvements to its physical plant for fifty years, and shafted all the employees right before the holidays.  I think letting the execs walk away with a zillion pounds of booty (which is what you get if you eat too much Hostess, btw) sends a message that rotten immoral behavior on the part of management shall be rewarded in the USA.

NEXT WEEK:
The Keebler Elves get locked out!

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTM55Dt2VEluN8-JIgfg5mSt32maO8jYsLuJvEvdundSedVdmQmGPY0TLmR

Well, no duh.  Nobody was going to buy the company before the courts bailed it out.  I'm just saying Hostess management ran the company into the ground three times, made no improvements to its physical plant for fifty years, and shafted all the employees right before the holidays.  I think letting the execs walk away with a zillion pounds of booty (which is what you get if you eat too much Hostess, btw) sends a message that rotten immoral behavior on the part of management shall be rewarded in the USA.


(Quoted with emphasis added for truth.)

No argument there, dude.  Situations like these are useful mainly in making it very clear that what's legal has no bearing on what's moral.  In the real world, the captain not only doesn't go down with the ship, he's the first guy running for the lifeboats.  Wherever you work, if you know your company's in trouble, at the first time of senior management heading for the exits, start looking for work before the inevitable.

(Quoted with emphasis added for truth.)

No argument there, dude.  Situations like these are useful mainly in making it very clear that what's legal has no bearing on what's moral.  In the real world, the captain not only doesn't go down with the ship, he's the first guy running for the lifeboats.  Wherever you work, if you know your company's in trouble, at the first time of senior management heading for the exits, start looking for work before the inevitable.


They're like that Italian skipper who ran the ship on the rocks, ordered dessert for him and his old lady, and ran for the nearest lifeboat!
::)