The Business of Football and General Motors’ Unions
Juventus FC
Sports lovers and stock pickers, we’ve got breaking news. Lionel Messi, the best soccer player in the world, has handed in a transfer request last night to FC Barcelona. He wants the club to sell him to another team, but very few clubs could actually afford him.
Football is a business, and you can trade Italian giants Juventus on Fantasy Finance. The club’s stock rocketed when they signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid in 2018. If the club puts an official bid out there for Messi, it’ll be interesting to see how the shares behave.
The deal would be for at least $800 million (Messi’s release clause), but a winning bid, plus the Argentines’ wages, could be well over $1 billion. That’s more than most companies’ market capitalizations. Would shirt sales recuperate it? We’ll break this down more if it happens!
General Motors
General Motors needs people power on its production lines, but many employees are calling in sick with coronavirus. It’s decided to use salaried workers instead of unionized workers on its factory floors, and that’s caused some agitation from investors and unions.
The saying, “people are our most important asset,” holds true at General Motors, because the people are disgruntled and need to be kept onside as the auto sector goes through electrification. The United Auto Workers union agreed a deal in 2019 on behalf of the workers, specifically for GM not to hire salaried workers, but that’s being breached right now.
The contract states that it can only be permitted in “unforeseen circumstances,” and those we are in right now? The union disagrees. Expect a headwind to GM’s stock price!
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.