“Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch says Apple deserves better than the treatment it’s getting from David Einhorn, the hedge-fund manager pressuring the iPhone maker to cough up dividends.
“Look, these guys are after a quick hit. I’d blow him off,” he told CNBC‘s “Closing Bell.” “I’d give Einhorn the back of my hand.”
Welch said he had the same kind of problem with activist investors while heading GE. “They’d come after us, ‘What are you going to do with all that cash?’ Well, we’re going to do a smart thing! Trust us!” Welch said.
Apple is in a vicious technology war with rivals big and small, and Welch said he thinks CEO Tim Cook should be given the space to run the company.
“He’s got Samsung and everyone nipping at his heels. And he risks running, rather than a sexy company, a commodities company.”
He said Apple needs to have the cash and the flexibility to move on an acquisition in a turbulent market.
“Apple deserves, after all they’ve done, a chance to deliver on all their promises,” he said…..”
