In this episode of Markets Without Spin, I continue following the money behind York Space Systems.

What began with an unexpected visit to the Small Satellite Conference led me to York, its acquisition of Orbion, and ultimately to the people and institutions behind the company.

We look at AE Industrial Partners, York chairman Kirk Konert, founder Dirk Wallinger, and BlackRock—and ask an important question: who actually owns York, who controls it, and where does the money behind the company come from?

This is part of a continuing series examining York Space Systems, its acquisitions, its investors, and the incentives that may ultimately determine what happens to the company.

And we're not finished. Next time on Markets Without Spin: Who Owns the Owners?

In the last episode, Franz Amussen explained how a morning walk through Salt Lake City unexpectedly led him to the Small Satellite Conference—and ultimately to York Space Systems.

Now the rabbit hole begins.

After discovering that Orbion had been acquired by York, Franz starts digging into York itself. The company had gone public only months earlier at $34 a share, yet its stock had fallen dramatically. At the same time, York was pursuing an ambitious strategy: assembling an integrated space and defense company through acquisitions.

York had acquired Orbion for propulsion, ATLAS Space Operations for ground infrastructure and mission operations, Solestial for space solar technology, and ALL.SPACE for advanced satellite communications.

Is York assembling a collection of best-in-class technologies—or simply buying companies and locking itself into them?

Franz examines York's business model, its government dependence, its falling revenue guidance, its backlog and contract pipeline, and the question at the center of the investigation:

What exactly is York trying to build?

That question leads to an even more important one:

Who is betting on York—and what are their incentives?

Next time: Follow the Money.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

What started as a morning walk through downtown Salt Lake City turned into the beginning of a much bigger investigation.

Franz Amussen accidentally stumbled across the Small Satellite Conference and began talking with companies exhibiting there. One conversation at the Orbion booth led to a surprising discovery: Orbion had been acquired by York Space Systems.

That raised a series of questions. Who is York? Who owns it? Why is it acquiring aerospace companies? Who is financing the strategy? What does BlackRock have to do with it? And are York's substantial losses actually destroying capital—or investing in capabilities that could eventually be worth much more?

In this episode, Franz explains how an ordinary morning walk became the starting point for a deep dive into York Space Systems—and why he decided to follow the story wherever it led.

This is the beginning of the York Space Systems rabbit hole.

Markets Without Spin is about understanding how markets and companies actually work—not telling you what to buy.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

What does it really mean when a company says it "earned" $500 million?

GAAP gives investors a common language for measuring corporate performance. But GAAP earnings aren't the same thing as cash—and the accounting choices, estimates and assumptions behind those earnings can have a profound effect on what investors see.

In this episode of Markets Without Spin, we examine how accounting can make a company's economics look better or worse than they really are.

We look at:

• Accrual accounting and the difference between earnings and cash
• Depreciation and useful-life assumptions
• FIFO vs. LIFO inventory accounting
• Revenue recognition
• Fair-value and mark-to-market accounting
• Management incentives and executive compensation
• Enron and the danger of turning future profits into today's earnings
• Arthur Andersen and the collapse of Enron
• Planet Labs and the opposite problem: when today's investment looks like today's expense
• Goodwill and acquisitions
• Why the cash flow statement may tell you more than the headline earnings number

The central lesson is simple:

Don't distrust GAAP. Understand it.

Don't just ask, "What did the company earn?"

Ask: How did it earn it? Where's the cash? What assumptions went into the number? What is management incentivized to do? And what is the company actually building with the money?

Because companies don't spend earnings. They spend cash.

Markets Without Spin explores the forces, incentives and financial mechanics that shape markets—and what investors should know before accepting the conventional story.

History's greatest investment bubbles reveal timeless lessons about valuation, cash flow, incentives, and speculation. This episode examines the South Sea Bubble, Railway Mania, and why revolutionary technology doesn't always make for a great investment.

Episode 10 – Show Me the Incentives

In this episode of Markets Without Spin, Franz Amussen traces the structural transformation of the American economy — not through ideology, but through incentives.

Beginning with President Nixon's closure of the gold window in 1971, Franz explains how monetary expansion, inflation, regulatory accumulation, globalization, and financialization reshaped American production, ownership, and middle-class stability over decades.

This episode explores:

• Why inflation is not neutral
• How Paul Volcker restored monetary credibility
• Why many factories never reopened after the early 1980s
• The incentive gap between U.S. and emerging markets
• The long-term hollowing of industrial communities
• Regulatory friction and its cumulative effects
• Financialization and capital concentration
• Why structural change rarely feels dramatic while it's happening

This is not a political episode. It is an examination of cause and effect.

If you want to understand how the American economy transformed — and why — start with incentives.

The Myth of Safety

In this episode, we examine what "safe" really means in modern finance.

We often assume that money in the bank is secure. That brokerage accounts are protected. That money market funds are cash equivalents.

History tells a more complicated story.

This episode explores:

• The 2013 Cyprus bail-in and frozen deposit accounts
• Capital controls and withdrawal limits inside the European Union
• The 2008 "breaking the buck" moment at the Reserve Primary Fund
• How the commercial paper market nearly froze payroll across America
• The structural build-up to the 2008 financial crisis
• The incentives behind mortgage securitization and leverage expansion
• Moral hazard and the stabilization of major institutions through TARP
• A personal experience during the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank
• Why some uninsured depositors were rescued — and others were not
• Brokerage firm failures and the risk of losing access even when assets are legally segregated
• What it actually means to be an unsecured creditor of a bank
• How FDIC insurance works — and what it doesn't guarantee
• The role of the Treasury and Federal Reserve as ultimate backstops
• Why nominal protection is not the same as protection of purchasing power
• Practical steps toward antifragility in a layered financial system

This episode sets the foundation for Episode 10, where we examine the gold window, inflation, and the structural shift in the monetary system.

If you found value in this discussion, please subscribe and share.

In Episode 8 of Markets Without Spin, Franz Amussen pulls back the curtain on the invisible plumbing of modern markets.

When you click "buy" or "sell," where does your order actually go?

It may never reach the public exchange.

This episode breaks down:

• Payment for Order Flow (PFOF)
• Internalization
• Dark pools
• High-frequency trading and latency arbitrage
• Conditional liquidity
• The 2010 Flash Crash
• March 2020's liquidity shock
• Why stop-loss orders can behave unpredictably in stressed markets
• How leverage interacts with volatility

Franz revisits lessons from:

• The 2010 Flash Crash
• The March 2020 COVID liquidity event
• A personal story involving short volatility exposure and margin liquidation

Referencing Flash Boys by Michael Lewis, this episode explains how modern market structure fragments price discovery — and why liquidity can disappear when it's needed most.

Key Takeaways

• Commission-free trading isn't free — it's monetized differently.
• A significant portion of retail flow never hits public exchanges.
• High-frequency traders provide liquidity — but only conditionally.
• In volatility spikes, liquidity providers step back.
• Liquidity risk can be more dangerous than fundamental risk.
• Structure determines survival during market stress.

Following Episode 6's breakdown of Bonneville Pacific, Episode 7 examines why investors fall for compelling narratives — and how market illusions form, grow, and collapse.

Topics Covered

• Why smart people believe bad stories
• The three elements of every market illusion
• The false narrative of stock buybacks
• Bonneville Pacific and familiarity risk
• Utah's penny-stock boom
• The unverifiable modular nuclear pitch
• Why government endorsement ≠ due diligence
• Personal angel investing psychology
• Practical rules to avoid narrative traps

Episode 6: Corporate Boards, Corporate Governance & Shareholder Risk — The Illusion of Oversight

Do corporate boards really protect shareholders—or do they simply create the appearance of accountability?

In this episode of Markets Without Spin, Franz Amussen examines one of the most persistent assumptions in investing: that corporate boards provide effective oversight of management. Drawing on firsthand experience with the collapse of Bonneville Pacific, along with lessons from Enron and other corporate failures, Franz explains why many boards struggle to challenge management, identify risks, or prevent costly mistakes.

Rather than focusing on corporate governance as presented in annual reports, this episode explores the incentives, information gaps, and structural weaknesses that often prevent boards from serving as truly independent watchdogs.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why corporate boards often fail to protect shareholders

• How information asymmetry limits board oversight

• What the Bonneville Pacific collapse revealed about prestigious boards

• Why Enron remains a landmark example of governance failure

• How executive compensation can influence board independence

• Why directors often face few consequences after major failures

• What effective corporate governance would require

• The indicators investors should watch instead of relying on board prestige

Whether you're an investor, board member, financial professional, or business owner, this episode offers a practical framework for evaluating companies beyond polished governance reports and impressive résumés.

Next Episode: Why corporate forecasts so often miss reality—and how investors can recognize when forecasts are driven more by incentives than by objective analysis.

If you enjoy Markets Without Spin, please subscribe, leave a review, and share the podcast with someone who wants to better understand the incentives and structures that shape today's markets.

Follow Franz Amussen on LinkedIn for additional commentary and future episodes.