After Ford, its Coke and Chrysler

We heard about the record breaking loss suffered by Ford Motor Company in 2006, which is not such a surprise given the state of the oil-addicted world unable to find a cheap fix.

Now it is the turn of another purveyor of well-packaged junk, Coca Cola. This symbol of poor health and water theft around the world has reported a drop in earnings and an erosion in its share price.

This is the report from Bloomberg: Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft-drink maker, said fourth-quarter profit fell less than analysts anticipated on increased demand for soda in China and Russia and healthier beverages such as bottled water in Mexico.

Net income declined 22 percent to $678 million, or 29 cents a share after its largest bottler wrote down the value of its North American unit, the Atlanta-based company said today in a statement. Excluding that, Coca-Cola earned 52 cents, topping analysts' estimates by 2 cents.

We must beware the designs of this water raider because it has said its rise in volumes is coming from markets outside the United States. In most of these markets, such as India, Coke simply sucks up groundwater in poorly supervised surroundings and pursues an aggressive advertising campaign using local film stars to sell its stuff.

Even more interesting is the report that Daimler Chrysler is looking for a buyer for its ailing acquisition, the Chrysler division. This American carmaker is to shed some 13,000 jobs, of which 11,000 are part-time workers. Shifts will be cut down in some plants and a profit now looks possible only in 2008. No one knows what the world will look like in that year, as the atmosphere is pumped with more greenhouse gases each minute, steaming up the climate.

If you are also addicted to oil, the end of the good life is nigh.