detroit bailout

House lawmakers are on the floor as we speak debating a bill to provide $2 billion more to what proved to be a tremendously popular cash for clunkers program. And, while some lawmakers would like to see the conditions of that program changed to encourage the purchase of more fuel efficient cars, White House economist [...]

It comes as no surprise that the hedge funds in control of Chrysler’s debt are lashing out at President Obama for fingering them yesterday as the primary reason a Chrysler bailout deal fell through. Indeed, The Washington Post has an eye-opening piece this morning about how those secretive funds feel like they’ve been asked to [...]

You might have heard that Detroit’s automakers have been struggling recently, and also that the federal government has stepped in with offers to help the dying companies weather the storm if only they’ll revamp their business models and make some concessions regarding employee compensation.
Well, it seems that some industry executives haven’t been willing to take [...]

On a conference call with reporters just moments ago, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) voiced a cautious optimism over President Obama’s rejection of the automakers’ restructuring plans, saying the administration remains committed to the survival of the domestic automakers. That “absolute commitment,” Levin said, should give “important reassurance” to anyone worried about the decline of [...]

President Obama today made official what had been leaked over the weekend: That the viability plans submitted last month by Chrysler and General Motors don’t go far enough to satisfy the administration, which is asking the ailing automakers for further restructuring as a condition of receiving more bailout funding.
We cannot, we must not, and we [...]

Remember when the Bush administration was opposed to tapping the $700 billion Wall Street bailout to help Detroit’s Big Three?
Fugetaboutit.
The Treasury Dept. announced last night that it will spend $6 billion from that fund to bail out GMAC, the flailing auto finance company whose reluctance to lend to riskier loan applicants has contributed significantly to [...]

More bad news for Detroit: Toyota announced yesterday that it expects to lose $1.7 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31 — the first annual loss for the company in 70 years. From The New York Times:
Analysts said Toyota’s downward revision, its second in two months, showed that the worst financial crisis since the [...]

When Senate Republicans last week blocked Democrats’ efforts to bail out General Motors and Chrysler, which say they’re near bankruptcy, the White House was quick to swoop in to announce that it would lend the help that Congress didn’t.
Aside from the comedy surrounding that development (the Bush administration’s original refusal to help the automakers was [...]

In a move that spells nothing but bad news for Detroit’s struggling automakers, Toyota announced yesterday that it’s suspended plans to produce its Prius hybrid in the United States.
Why is that bad news for the Big Three? Because there’s been this line of argument that Ford, General Motors and Chrysler would be performing splendidly right [...]

Right. In Texas giving a commencement speech at A&M. As some folks are pointing out this morning, it brings to mind another time when Bush was reading to kids in the midst of a crisis.
Remember “My Pet Goat?”