Porsche - Playing the Market in Wolfsburg

BBC News has a fascinating story about the legendary Porsche automaker and how it became a "a hedge fund with a carmaker attached."

It seems Ferdinand Porsche's namesake, known for its iconic sports cars, has been furiously playing the stock markets. Last year Porsche made six times more on the market than it did on its car business.

Why?

It's been playing the market to get enough money to achieve its life long dream of getting total ownership of Dr. Ferdinand's other brainchild, Volkswagen. Right now Porsche owns or controls nearly three quarters of the outstanding shares of VW.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7843262.stm

Porsche Versus London

Porsche has served notice that it's not going to tolerate the City of London's levy on gas-guzzling cars driving in the city centre. The City recently introduced a 25-pound daily tax for cars driven in the city. The tax applies to cars that produce more than 225 grams of CO2 per kilometre.

Porsche claims that deterring car traffic in London won't cut greenhouse gas emissions and, worse, it will deter businesses from the urban core.

The carmaker says it will send a letter to Lord Mayor Livingstone asking that the tax be repealed and, if he refuses, will take its case to court on an application for judicial review.