And that, my friends is how you sweep the taxman's leg. Kirk "Miyagi" Kerkorian, billionaire financier and GM antagonist snapped up 12 million shares of GM stock in a buyback deal that happened like clockwork. Kerkorian, through his Tracinda Corporation, sold the same amount at the end of 2005 — at a capital loss — for millions of dollars in tax advantages. The new stake — seven million shares bought on the open market and five million bought in a private transaction, according to the New York Times — reportedly cost $263 million, and returns the Big K's ownership stake to just under 10%, up from 7.8% pre-rebuy. Still, with GM reporting its fourth-quarter results this morning, maybe he should have waited the extra day.

Related:
Sell, Mortimer, Sell!!: Kerkorian Unloads Millions of GM Shares [internal]