$25 billion in perspective

Peggy Risley of Blanchard Gold sent an e-mail around, detailing steps the government has taken so far in this financial crisis. I haven’t done my usual fact checking on this but it seems right. Here’s the list (edited somewhat):
Wall Street

$1.6 trillion in loans to banks so far in exchange for otherwise unwanted collateral. The Fed [...]

GM and Chrysler, working together again

You may remember how the analysts and reporters were claiming that GM, after acquiring Chrysler, would shut down pretty much everything but the minivans and Jeeps. At that time, you may remember my saying:
Rubbish, I say. Even if Rick Wagoner is as foolish as he looks.  These people don’t know Chrysler. They are still thinking the Daimler line [...]

What happened to the November 4-5 announcement?

Rumors were flying. “There will be something BIG on November 4.” Then, “There will be something BIG on November 5.” Finally, “There will be something BIG on November 6.”
Honestly, when nothing materialized on November 4 other than a historic election that hopefully lined up a nail in the coffin of a voluntarily, fully, irrationally separated [...]

What GM’s Friday announcements might be

The Detroit News is reporting that General Motors will announce “important changes” to its operation on Friday. Citing an internal company email, the News says GM CEO Rick Wagoner and Fritz Henderson, the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer, will outline plans to address challenges “brought on by the volatile global economic situation.”
Earlier, we’d been [...]

Quick reality checks: Chrysler, GM, and more

General Motors has not acquired Chrysler  - at least not yet.
Chrysler can survive with or without a GM merger. Cerberus has the resources to keep it running.
If GM and Chrysler do not merge, it will not cause them to go bankrupt. 
Analysts are unlikely to have prior knowledge of any events. “You will know what happens [...]

Interesting theory: Daimler decided Dodge death

This was a comment from “Patfromigh” which I found interesting enough to make into its own entry. Keep in mind, I did NOT write it and am not necessarily saying I believe it. But it IS interesting.
Was Cerberus just a middleman to get what Daimler really wanted in the first place?
Remember the Valentines Day [...]