The pain of Dow Chemical Co. and the fool on the hill, Andrew Liveris

Andrew Liveris, the Australian who runs Dow Chemical Co., probably is due a good ass-chewing by his company's board of directors.

The guy got too smart for his britches, taking on a big (and overpriced) merger in the midst of a recession that essentially was contingent on the completion of another big deal that blew up in his face, cause of, well, that aforementioned recession, which has everybody everywhere pullin in their horns (except for the swashbucklin' Liveris.)

Instead of delicious shrimp on the barbie, Liveris put the shrimp in a microwave and set the timer on too long. Kablooey.

If Dow is forced to cut its dividend to shareholders, it may be Liveris who's on the barbie. We'll see.

Meanwhile, a lot of hardhats around here are wondering how they're gonna pay the rent.

For the particulars, Banjo says check out the Wall Street Journal's Deal Journal.