Items of Interest:
Wall Street Journal:
Tight Credit Puts Squeeze On Big Three Auto Dealers -- The credit crunch squeezing Detroit's Big Three auto makers is now spreading to some of their dealers, adding financial pressure to a group already strained by this year's big drop in auto sales.
The latest and most prominent example is Bill Heard Enterprises Inc., one of the largest Chevrolet dealers in the country, with 2007 sales of $2.1 billion. Earlier this month GMAC LLC, the financing company partly owned by General Motors Corp., stopped doing business with Bill Heard over concerns about financial losses related to the privately owned chain of 14 stores, Bill Heard confirmed through a spokesman.
The weakening credit profiles of GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC and their finance arms are adding a new challenge for dealers...
Michael Phelps Buys in Baltimore -- Just about every news and quasi-news outlet in the damn world is reporting that young Mister Phelps recently splashed out on a $1,690,000 condo overlooking Baltimore's revitalized Harborfront.
Details on the apartment are slim, but most reports say it measures 4,080 square feet. Your Mama can only hope it's got high ceilings and an extra-long bath tub...
related:
CNBC / Realty Check:
Michael Phelps Fuels the Condo Market -- Not that he needs anymore, but yet another kudo to Michael Phelps for doing his part in the housing recovery.
Instead of heading for La-La-Land*, where all those cameras await, or for a spicier set-up in South Beach, the millionaire medal man reportedly decided to sink $1.69 million into his hometown of Baltimore...
TMZ:
Phelps -- Now a Real Homie -- [photo gallery]
- When Is a Tax Cut Really a Tax Hike? Usually - Gene Epstein, Barron's
- Bank Profits To Pay a Price for Fed Risk Limits - John Berry, Bloomberg
- Chicken Littles and the U.S. Banks - David Weidner, MarketWatch
- Paulson's Bazooka Turned Out to Be Pea Shooter - C. Baum, Bloomberg
- Calling Hank Paulson - Editorial, Wall Street Journal
- How One Bank Avoided the Meltdown - Telis Demos, Fortune
- Management Shake-Up Won't Solve Fannie's Ills - M. Barnett, Portfolio
- How Much Banking Does America Need? - James Saft, Reuters
- Crunch Time at Lehman - Iain Dey, Times of London
- Comparing Household Income and Household Size - Carpe Diem
