The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week

Bottled Up Kent's innovative strategy

1. Coke and a Smile

Coke (KO) put a fresh face on its global ambitions this week.

The Atlanta-based seller of sugar water made Muhtar Kent president of Coca-Cola International. Starting next month, Kent will oversee four group executives responsible for Africa, Asia, the European Union and Latin America.

"Muhtar is a proven leader with a wealth of relevant experience and a record of achievement that speaks for itself," CEO Neville Isdell said. "He is the ideal person to assume this key position. In his new role, Muhtar will be working with me to further improve our system efforts in our international markets and to help accelerate the on-the-ground execution of our key priorities that are critical to building value for our shareowners."

When it comes to creating value for shareowners, one part of Kent's record seems particularly well-spoken.

It seems that in the fall of 1996, as a managing director of Coca-Cola Amatil-Europe, Kent sold short 100,000 shares of the bottler -- just before a profit warning clipped the stock. Kent said back then that he believed the sale was legal and that he hadn't been influenced by any information about Amatil's results.

Australian regulators didn't see it that way. So the next year, Kent settled an insider trading complaint with the Australian Securities Commission. Without admitting wrongdoing, Kent agreed to repay about $400,000 in profit from the transaction, plus $50,000 to help cover the cost of the investigation.

Kent resigned from Amatil in September 1997. "He thought it was in his and the company's best interests," his spokesman told Sydney's Daily Telegraph at the time.

Coke rehired Kent last year, after he spent more than four years leading Europe's Efes Beverage Group. Now Coke is standing by its man.

"This was neither an insider issue nor were any company rules violated," a Coke spokesman told The Wall Street Journal. "It basically was a situation where Muhtar was provided with incorrect financial advice. When he discovered it was incorrect he moved immediately to remedy the situation."

You aren't alone if you find that explanation a little flat.

Dumb-o-Meter score: 93. So betting against your own stock isn't a widely admired financial strategy for top execs? Who knew.

To view Colin Barr's humorous video take on Coke, click here.