Items of Interest:
Bailout Nation Debates Automaker Bailout
John / Power Line:
NO UAW BAILOUT — Jim Manzi has done some of the best analysis of the proposed bailout of GM, Ford and Chrysler—or, one should more properly say, bailout of the United Auto Workers, otherwise slated for extinction. Here, he addresses the theory that the Big Three are in the midst of a turnaround …
Discussion: The Corner
Related:
Louis Uchitelle / New York Times:
If Detroit Falls, Foreign Makers Could Be Buffer
Ezra Klein / American Prospect:Discussion: Will Wilkinson, Commentary, A Stitch in Haste and Prairie Weather
THE COSTS OF INACTION. — I'm still finding myself conflicted …
Discussion: Matthew Yglesias
The Bankrupty vs. Bailout Meme: How About a 'Bail-In'? -- There's a bailout vs bankruptcy meme going around with regard to GM -- a choice which makes me want to tick "none of the above". I've seen it in dozens of places of late, but since it comes with the imprimatur of Paul Krugman, let's look at the argument of Jonathan Cohn ...
Louis Woodhill, RealClearMarkets:
The Steps Necessary to Save GM
David Pauly / Bloomberg:
Auto Industry Needs Emergency Bankruptcy
Wall Street Journal:
Why Bankruptcy Is the Best Option for GM -- General Motors is a once-great company caught in a web of relationships designed for another era. It should not be fed while still caught, because that will leave it trapped until we get tired of feeding it. Then it will die. The only possibility of saving it is to take the risk of cutting it free. In other words, GM should be allowed to go bankrupt...
Wall Street Journal:
Stimulate Car Buyers, Not Car Makers
Discussion: THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
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Jeffrey D. Sachs / Washington Post:A Bridge for the Carmakers -- A government-supported restructuring of the auto industry is urgently needed for our economic and energy security. If the Bush administration allows the auto industry to collapse, it will compound the panic that started with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. Washington should seize the opportunity to begin a new era of U.S. technological leadership in the global auto industry, starting with an immediate loan...
Discussion: The New Republic
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USA Today:As it asks for bailout, GM cuts extravagance, office supplies — General Motors' Cadillacs and Hummers may be icons of extravagance, but a cash crunch is forcing frugality on the automaker, ...
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John Dvorak / MarketWatch:Could Steve Jobs Save General Motors? - Writing in the New York Times, commentator Thomas Friedman decided to take a few potshots at the beleaguered U.S. auto industry -- a masochistic business that seems to invite cyclical attacks. It's like shooting fish in a barrel.
Generalities, unfair comparisons, sarcasm, and general condescension was thematic in the article. In other words, Friedman was being a typical columnist.
But at the end, almost as a throwaway, he suggested that if someone like Steve Jobs ran GM...
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Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:Bailing Out in the Real World — I feel like some of the commentary on the prospect of an auto industry bailout is starting to remind me of some of the stuff I fell for before we invaded Iraq. The kind of thing where someone yes, “yes this sounds like a bad idea, but if we do it like this …
Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Lean Left
and The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
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Wall Street Journal:Goldman Chiefs Give Up Bonuses -- Top Goldman executives have decided to forgo their 2008 bonuses, giving up potentially tens of millions of dollars in payouts in a year that has seen the reshaping of the securities industry...
discussion:Related:
Portfolio.com / Economics Roundtable: Extra Credit, Sunday Edition
Douglas McIntyre / BloggingStocks: Top Goldman Sachs execs take no bonuses
Wsf / Wall $treet Folly:
WSF Headline Roundup - Goldman Sr execs won't take bonuses; Huge Citi cuts; Long & painful recession?... — Blankfein, Goldman Deputies Decide to Forgo Bonuses Citigroup to Cut As Many As 50,000 Jobs in Overhaul Citi chief looks to rally the troops Obama Calls for Aid to U.S. Auto Industry, With Conditions Long, painful recession is likely -...
Flexo / Consumerism Commentary:
Goldman Sachs Executives Will Forgo Bonuses — One of my concerns about the original bailout bill was that the money paid to financial institutions would be used to pay for outsized executive bonuses. While companies must offer outrageous compensation to attract and keep the best executive talent, the market place has forced the price upwards. That worked well when the financial [...]
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National Association of Realtors [NAR]:Pending Home Sales Down on Tight Credit and Economic Slowdown -- Pending home sales fell on the heels of a strong gain a month earlier as credit tightened and economic conditions deteriorated, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in September, declined 4.6 percent to 89.2 from an upwardly revised reading of 93.5 in August, but is 1.6 percent higher than September 2007 when it stood at 87.8....
discussion:
Barry Ritholtz / The Big Picture:
Pending Home Sales Up -- The Pending Home Sales Index rose for the second month in a row.... it is the year over year data that matters much more than the monthly data...
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- To Prevent Bubbles, Restrain the Fed - Gerald O'Driscoll, Wall St. Journal
- Greenspan & Volcker: Tale of Two Fed Chiefs - David Marsh, MarketWatch
- A Rescue Plan Without Taxpayer Money - Gretchen Morgenson, NY Times
- Trillions Down and Still Bailing - Bill Fleckenstein, MSNMoney
- Good Intentions Paved Road to Hell - William Rees-Mogg, Times of London
- End of Big Government Era Comes to An End - Bill Frezza, RealClearMarkets
- A Less Damaging Recession Without Bailouts - Kevin Hassett, Bloomberg
- Deconstructing the Financial Crisis (so far) - Barry Ritholtz / The Big Picture
- Russia: Energy Superpower or Bankrupt State? - A.E. Pritchard, Telegraph
- End of the World or Big Opportunity? - Scott Grannis, Calafia Beach Pundit
- Turbulence Was Word of the Week - Prieur du Plessis, Postcards from C-Town
- Congress Ignores Wisdom of Investing Crowd - Brian Sullivan, Fox Business
- How Do We Stop It from Happening Again? - S. Gordon, Worthwhile CI
- The Real Lender of Last Resort - Ross Kaplan, City Lakes Blog
- We Need an Exit Strategy for Fannie and Freddie - Susan Lee, Forbes
- Sex, Lies, and Subprime Mortgages - Mara Der Hovanesian, Business Week
- Some People Foresaw the Financial Crisis - Alan Beattie, Financial Times
- Welcome to the Socialism That Won't Leave - George Will, Washington Post
- Facing Crisis, Congress Makes Some Sense - Joe Nocera, New York Times
- The G20 Has Lots to Talk About - Diane Francis, National Post
- The G20 Summit Could Be Quite Important - Bill Emmott, Daily Telegraph
- How About John Corzine at Treasury? - John Nichols, The Nation
- U.S. CEOs Starting to Share Our Pain - Richard Siklos, Times of London
- Carl Icahn - Corporate Hell-Raiser - Emily Parker, Wall Street Journal
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