By today’s standards it’s small potatoes but a billion potatoes here and a billion there and pretty soon … well you know the quip. I’m talking about the “cash for clunkers” bill that was approved today as part of an add-on to funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. This has been billed as an […]
Posts Tagged ‘auto industry’
Holman Jenkins Shreds The Administration’s Auto Policy
Just in case you missed it, you might want to check out Holman Jenkins editorial in the WSJ today in which he likens President Obama to a king in pursuit of an unachievable goal. He once again shows why he has the best grasp around of the economics of the car industry. Here’s a sample: […]
The Worldwide Race To Save The Car Industry
As we race our trading partners to see who can disguise their subsidies more adeptly, here is a rather neat compilation from the Guardian as to the efforts so far. USOn top of a $17.4bn (£12.4bn) lifeline handed to GM and Chrysler, the government has pledged $6bn to support General Motors’s finance arm. GM has […]
GM’s Capitulation: A New Industrial Paradigm?
I missed this yesterday. It’s a truly fine article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Saturday. The theme is that GM essentially went into business with the U.S. government when it agreed to their rescue terms. The curtain comes down this week on the 2009 Detroit International Auto Show — and with it […]
German Automakers Decide To Take On Washington’s Auto Companies
It’s going to be very interesting to see how Washington, Inc. copes with a challenge to one of its newest acquisitions. The WSJ reported today that both Volkswagen and BMW are eyeing the U.S. auto market for growth and increased market share. Sensing opportunity in Detroit’s weakness, Volkswagen AG and BMW AG of Germany are […]
Washington Acquires A Car Company
By tomorrow morning there should be some clarification on this, but for the time being the GMAC debt swap/government investment/bank holding company status just gets curiouser and curiouser. The word tonight is that the government has committed $6 billion to GMAC in the form of a $5 billion preferred equity investment and a $1 billion […]