Day: April 30, 2009

Chrysler Fails!

Chrysler will file for bankruptcy after talks with a small group of creditors crumbled just a day before a government deadline for the automaker to come up with a restructuring plan, two administration officials said Thursday.

The Obama administration had long hoped to stave off bankruptcy for Chrysler, but it became clear that a holdout group wouldn’t budge on proposals to reduce Chrysler’s $6.9 billion in secured debt, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the filing plans are not public. Clearing those debts was a needed step for Chrysler restructure by the Thursday night deadline.

Bankruptcy doesn’t mean the nation’s third largest automaker will shut down. And the privately-held Chrysler is expected to sign a partnership agreement with the Italian company Fiat as early as Thursday as part of its restructuring plan. A Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing would allow a judge to decide how much the company’s creditors would get.

When it files for bankruptcy, Chrysler would continue operating and Fiat would still sign on as a partner on Thursday, the people said. The government already has promised to back Chrysler’s warranties in an effort to allay customers’ fears that the automaker wouldn’t be around to honor them.

The UAW agreement, which would take effect May 4, meets Treasury requirements for continued loans to Chrysler Corp., and includes commitments from Fiat to manufacture a new small car in one of Chrysler’s U.S. facilities and to share key technology with Chrysler.

2009 Anal-Ocity

The hits just keep coming….once again it is the Rush Man that has an anal statement that it noteworthy.

This one is from his radio show where he went on a long winded tear about Obama.

“[E]verywhere Obama is spreading Obamaism, there is a deadly disease taking place, either in the TARP community or in the newspaper business,” he said. “Obama goes to Mexico — they have an earthquake. Obama goes to Mexico — get pig flu.”

You gotta love the Right, they can make something out of nothing….did anyone bother to tell his fatitude that the original case over 4 weeks ago? Never mind he has NEVER let the facts get in the way of his rants.

Washington Does NOT Want To Run Auto Companies

So says the Obama Administration.

Really?  This will just have to be an Anal-Ocity soon.

The White House said today that the government does not want to run General Motors Corp., despite GM’s restructuring plan that would give the Treasury 51% of the company.

President Obama has said the administration did not want to manage an automaker, but the deal at GM and what’s expected to be a similar proposal at Chrysler would give the U.S. government great say in both firms.

“This administration and this government have no desire to run an auto company on a day-to-day basis,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. “It is not our desire to own or run one of the auto companies.”

But yet they can fire a CEO, or dictate bankruptcies or choose what direction the company must take.  But they do not want to run the companies….thinking…sounds like it is too late they already are running the companies.

“What the government has told us is that they want us to develop a plan, to execute the plan, to run the business, to be successful, to be viable, and to take care of the taxpayer so the taxpayer gets a return on their funds,” GM CEO Henderson told analysts.

Sorry guys, but I believe it is too late….you already are the boss.

Where Is The Upside?

Tuesday, April 28, 2009, I was told by the media that the consumer confidence was on the rise and that could show the beginnings of the recovery are finally here.

Consumers assessment of present-day conditions improved moderately, with those claiming business conditions are “bad” easing to 45.7 percent from 51.0 percent, while those claiming business conditions are “good” rose to 7.6 percent from 6.9 percent.

Consumers expecting business conditions to worsen over the next six months declined to 25.3 percent from 37.8 percent, while those expecting conditions to improve rose to 15.6 percent from 9.6 percent in March.

This is a good thing right?  God knows I want the recession to end and end soon, but who did these people talk with?  There is about 13.5 million unemployed and countless others waiting for the hammer to fall on their jobs.  What consumers are confident?

Then on Wednesday, 29 April 2009 the news of the GDP hit airwaves.

The U.S. economy plunged again in the first quarter, making this the worst recession in at least half a century.

Gross domestic product dropped at a 6.1 percent annual pace, weaker than forecast, after contracting at a 6.3 percent rate in the last three months of 2008, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The report, which reflected a record slump in inventories and further declines in housing, comes hours before Federal Reserve officials decide how much money to pump into the economy.

Gross Domestic Product–value of production within a country’s borders.  This fell and now is as low as it was 50 years ago……what part of that breeds confidence?