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Their fates now in the hands of lawmakers, Detroit's Big Three automakers are girding for congressional hearings later this week to determine if they'll receive a $34 billion government bailout or face the prospect that at least one of them might go bankrupt.
China's sovereign wealth fund, which last year poured $5 billion into Morgan Stanley, is reluctant to plow more money into foreign financial institutions until governments hash out coherent policies to cope with the global economic and financial turmoil, the fund's head said Wednesday.
Their fates now in the hands of lawmakers, Detroit's Big Three automakers are girding for congressional hearings later this week to determine if they'll receive a $34 billion government bailout or face the prospect that at least one of them might go bankrupt.
The government must toughen its monitoring of the $700 billion financial bailout to ensure that banking institutions limit their top executives' pay and comply with other restrictions, federal auditors said Tuesday in the first comprehensive review of the rescue package.
Humbled and fighting for survival, Detroit's once-mighty automakers appealed to Congress with a retooled case for a bailout as large as $34 billion Tuesday, pledging to slash workers, car lines and executive pay in return for a federal lifeline. GM and Chrysler said they needed an immediate cash infusion to last 'til New Year's, and warned they could drag the entire industry down if they fail.
If the Detroit Three automakers have learned anything since their last trip to Washington, it's that the old way of doing business just won't fly.
Yields on U.S. government debt touched fresh lows again Tuesday as investors, worried about the economy and the ongoing volatility in stocks, again sought out the safest investments.
At the height of the real estate boom, even drab, rent-controlled apartment houses in the Bronx and Harlem were suddenly fetching Park Avenue prices.
Shopping binges on the day after Thanksgiving were likely not enough to save a dismal November for retailers, leaving them with what's expected to be a second straight monthly sales drop and fueling concerns about how much consumer spending can fall.
Retailers got some relief on the day after Thanksgiving, but the spending likely wasn't enough to salvage a drab November from showing a drop in sales. The rampant discounting needed to attract financially strapped shoppers will probably hurt fourth-quarter earnings as well.
The CEOs of Detroit's three automakers - Ford Motor Co.'s Alan Mulally, General Motors Corp.'s Rick Wagoner and Chrysler LLC's Robert Nardelli - are saving their companies more than $15,000 by driving to Washington, D.C., rather than flying by corporate jet:
Chrysler says that without a federal loan, its cash could fall below the minimum amount required to run the company in the first quarter of next year.
The nation's governors are seeking tens of billions of dollars in federal spending as their states struggle to survive the economic crisis.
The head of the FDIC said Tuesday the government needs to devise an "exit strategy" for its massive financial rescue plan to avoid artificially propping up banks and other institutions over the long term.
Chrysler says CEO Robert Nardelli will join his Detroit counterparts in driving to Washington, D.C., this week to seek federal loans.
General Motors Corp. said Tuesday it needs $12 billion in government loans to keep operating, telling Congress in a bluntly worded report that its collapse could have "severe, long-term consequences to the U.S. economy."
Proclaiming green the new gold, Florida Power & Light executives on Tuesday marked the groundbreaking of the first of three new solar power projects that will eventually make the state No. 2 in the nation for energy from the sun.
About 200 workers have been laid off from a luxury resort in Puerto Rico, officials said Tuesday, adding to the struggles of a Caribbean hotel industry hit by falling revenues and bookings due to the global financial crisis.
Facing growing public furor and deep skepticism in Congress, Detroit's Big Three automakers on Tuesday gave lawmakers detailed plans to restore each manufacturer to viability, a starting point for getting a $25 billion government bailout to help them survive the current recession.
Access to credit and the capital needed for exploration and production is the biggest obstacle facing oil companies in 2009, even more than lower crude and natural gas prices, a new survey shows.
Reported incidents of mortgage fraud grew by 45 percent in the second quarter compared to the year-ago period, as borrowers misstated their financial information to maneuver around tighter lending standards, industry data released Tuesday showed.
Barack Obama will be the first American president in nearly 50 years to have a relatively free hand in deciding whether to ease punitive Cold War-era policies toward communist Cuba, and the foreign policy team he announced this week seems predisposed to make it happen.
W.R. Grace & Co. has agreed to pay up to $140 million to settle a class-action lawsuit stemming from its use of an attic-insulating product that contained asbestos.
A judge has convicted a prominent Brazilian financier of corruption and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
Athletic apparel maker Puma AG said Tuesday it will take a majority stake in Dutch company Dobotex starting next year.
President-elect Barack Obama promised swift action Tuesday on an economic plan "to solve this crisis and to ease the burden on our states," and he cast governors as his partners in crafting a recession-rebound strategy.
Cox Newspapers said Tuesday it will shut its Washington, D.C., office in April, citing a need to limit costs in a tightening economy.
Share prices on the London Stock Exchange rose Tuesday.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, preparing for his final round of economic talks with China, said Tuesday that Beijing must keep letting its currency rise in value against the dollar to help ease trade tensions with the United States.
Italian power company Edison SpA said Tuesday it has signed a $1.4 billion agreement with Egyptian energy officials for the exploration and development of the Abu Qir oil fields off the coast of Alexandria.
http://www.puma.com
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