Home Depot Hubbub Didn't Set Buyout Tone

Well, uh, guess what?

KKR essentially told the banks to kiss off on any meaningful concessions. They probably gave in on the precise assortment of conference-room Danish for the lawyers and that's about it. And what about that trend, the tone forever set by Home Depot? Wait -- as always when it comes to the business media, it gets better ...

In an article called "The Month of Reckoning" that ran this weekend in Barron's, the First Data deal was declared "the bellwether." Forget Home Depot. But, once again, no other deal is mentioned.

In this month described as all-important, circumstances will get their marching orders from exactly one very particular deal. And isn't KKR stronger than many buyout players? Should they really stand for the rest, especially alone? The bitter fact, as we see again, is that it doesn't even take three to qualify as a trend. Just one!

And just as others picked up on the idea that Home Depot was emblematic, the flavor of the day on Tuesday proves to be First Data. In its "Ahead of the Tape" column, The Wall Street Journal picks up where Barron's left off this weekend. They describe the First Data deal as "emblematic," adding, "Among all the pending buyouts, the $26 billion deal for First Data will likely set the market's tone."

In other words, once again step to the curb. Time to board the bandwagon of the latest trend declared on little more than a hunch.

In the end, forget Home Depot and First Data. The reader who emails me the next impending deal to be widely declared the start of a trend, will receive the first-ever Business Press Maven "Trendspotter" award. But most of all, remember: Trends and tone-setters are declared millions of times a year. And at least once or twice a year, the articles are even right. So beware. And be aware.