Presidential Candidate John McCain Responds to GM Plant Closures
By Robert FaragoOctober 12, 2008 -
“I’m disappointed to hear of the upcoming General Motors plant closings. Hardworking people are paying the price because our country’s leaders have put Washington corruption and Wall Street greed before Main Street’s interests for too long. Change is coming. I know families across America are hurting, and as president, I will lead members of both parties in a fight to keep and create good jobs in communities across the country. Now is not a time for words and platitudes. Now is a time for action. That is why I supported auto-industry loan guarantees and will continue to work to create opportunities for American auto companies to build the car of the 21st century and put Americans back to work.”
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | Politics | 34 comments 
Collateral Damage Isn’t ALL Bad: PA Turnpike Deal Falls Through
By Robert FaragoOctober 7, 2008 -
Financially-challenged Pennsylvania motorists can breathe a sigh of relief, as The Newspaper reports that “Abertis announced the Spanish-led Pennsylvania Turnpike Partners (PTP) consortium had dropped plans to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike until the year 2083.” In a statement, Fat Albert said “Hey, hey, hey! We don’t have the cash to play!” OK, they actually said “Progress in the approval process, which is taking longer than expected, alongside uncertainties in financial markets are behind the decision, which will give the partners of the consortium more freedom to assess other opportunities and projects, some of which are in part related to the current situation.” And most of which aren’t. And that “longer than expected” bit refers to state lawmakers rejecting a proposed 25 percent hike (plus annual 2.5 percent rises) in tolls. Hey, and it’s win - win! “Fitch Ratings responded to the announcement by removing the Spanish company from its ‘Ratings Watch Negative’ list. The ratings firm believed Abertis would have had trouble raising the $3 billion in capital needed to begin the Turnpike takeover.” [TTAC is proud to announce that The Newspaper has agreed to simultaneous posting of its future articles]
Posted in News Blog | Politics | Taxes | 2 comments
$700b Bailout May– Or May Not– Include Bad Auto Loans
By Robert FaragoOctober 4, 2008 -
The logic of fixing the effects of over-liberal lending with a $700b “loan” from U.S. taxpayers– which includes enough boondogglage to keep the snack food industry in pork rinds for a thousand years– escapes me. But one thing is for sure: Motown’s magnates viewed the bailout bill important enough to mount a massive muscle flexing campaign to assure its passage. We’ve already published GM CEO Rick Wagoner’s pre-vote SOS to dealers. The Detroit News now reveals that ChryCo CEO Bob Nardelli called all MI’s reps and provided his employees with a toll-free 800 number to do the same. And just as the $25b Department of Energy low-interest auto industry loans, this is not a done deal. “While the department made no promises, [Representative] Knollenberg got a letter Friday from the Treasury Department. It confirmed that ‘automobile loans can be purchased in circumstances where the secretary and chairman of the Federal Reserve conclude that doing so would be necessary to promote financial market stability,’ wrote Kevin Fromer, assistant secretary for legislative affairs at the Treasury Department, in a letter obtained by The Detroit News.’” The DetN reveals the stakes. “Nearly 4 in 10 auto buyers have been unable to get financing for new vehicles, because of tougher requirements from lenders. A survey released this week said 64 percent of new car buyers had been approved for loans through Sept. 20 this year, down from 83 percent during the same period last year” And this is a bad thing because? Oh right, bad paper is good for business.
Posted in Chapter 11 | News Blog | Politics | 12 comments
Motown Senator Stabenow Plays Bailout Both Ways
By Robert FaragoOctober 2, 2008 -
Make no mistake: Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow is solidly in Detroit’s pocket. Stabenow lobbied hard to slip the $25b bailout Department of Energy auto industry retooling loans into a congressional housekeeping bill. So why did The Debster vote against the Senate version of the $700b Wall Street bailout, a bill sufficiently beloved by Motown that GM CEO Rick Wagoner felt compelled to send his dealers a “lobby the bitches’ for this one” SOS? According to the Chicago Trib, her office released a three-paragraph statement Wednesday night that highlighted her “concerns.” “Hardworking families in Michigan are in crisis every single day and the bill passed by the Senate tonight does little to help them,” Stabenow’s statement said. The bill was “fundamentally the wrong approach to fixing our economy.” So what’s the right approach? * crickets chirping * So what’s the real reason for Stabenow’s vote against the bill? She knew her vote wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference– except to voters back home. As for her friends in Detroit… “Stabenow submitted a ‘colloquy’ into the Senate record after the vote with Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., making clear that the bailout provisions would apply to auto financing companies. ‘I want to commend Chairman Dodd for his leadership on this bill… the credit crisis is having a significant impact on the hardworking men and women at GM in Michigan and throughout the country who proudly build American-made cars and trucks; the men and women who sell and finance Chrysler vehicles; and the individuals who service Ford vehicles in dealerships throughout the country.’” God I hate politics.
Posted in News Blog | Politics | 10 comments
Driving To/From Polls May Be Hazardous To Your Health
By Richard ChenOctober 2, 2008 -
The Journal of the American Medical Association (subscription required for full text) offers a study on car and pedestrian death rates on Presidential Election Days (E.D., believe it or not). When compared to the day before and day afterwards, there was a small but consistent rise every time we’ve elected a president since 1976, approximately 24 more deaths each E.D. This small (18% overall) fatality increase was seen in all parts of the country, across different age groups and genders, drivers and pedestrians, shorter vs. longer polling hours, and Democratic vs. Republican victor. The authors noted that Election Day was deadlier than Super Bowl Sunday, although did not compare these data to more notorious periods such as New Year’s Day and Independence. The Canadian researchers (takes an outsider to figure this out) still recommend participating in democracy, but to avoid speeding as well as alcohol and other distractions. (Drinking while voting is probably not a wise activity). As they say in Chicago, vote early, and vote often.
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Canada) »
Posted in News Blog | Politics | Safety | 8 comments
Taxpayer Bailout to Bail Out Automakers’ Bad Loans
By Robert FaragoOctober 2, 2008 -
You can’t kill the $700b federal bailout bill– sorry, “rescue package” with a stick. And now that it’s ballooned from two pages to over 400, the auto industry lobbyists have wet their beak. Automotive News [sub] reports that “House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., confirmed this week that under the plan, the Treasury Department would have authority to buy securities backed by automotive loans. Automotive loans are not as troubled as mortgages, but in the current climate investors are unwilling to buy the securities, effectively cutting off the flow of credit, industry lobbyists say.” In other words, Uncle Sam is going to assume responsibility for billion of bucks in bad paper written by domestic automakers and their agents to move the metal, so that the feds can “free up” the credit market and enable automakers to write more bad loans to boost their bottom line. There ought to be a law. Or, in this case, not.
Posted in High Finance | News Blog | Politics | 17 comments
Barack Obama Doesn’t Heart Transplants
By Edward NiedermeyerSeptember 25, 2008 -
Posted in News Blog | Politics | 20 comments
John McCain Hearts Detroit
By Robert FaragoSeptember 25, 2008 -
Posted in News Blog | Politics | 9 comments
Gas Panic Spreads Across the South
By Robert FaragoSeptember 23, 2008 -
CNN reports that Nashville, TN has run out of gas, after local motorists became convinced that the city was running out of gas, which it then did. “Everybody has just gone nuts,” Mike Williams, executive director of the Tennessee Petroleum Council, told the network. Williams said drivers were bird-dogging gas trucks and lines at some stations were “a mile long.” He said fuel was continuing to enter the city; pipelines were working and barges were coming in. Stories on iReport (take that as you will) chronicle shortages in Asheville, NC, Marietta, GA and Buckhead. Speaking to Forbes, Carol Gifford from the AAA Carolinas office said that some stations may be totally out of gas, while others may have trouble getting certain grades of gasoline. “So what motorists see, is a gas station that once had an outage now has gas. They only have it for a day or so, and then they are out again. That will probably continue until more refineries are back up and operating,” Gifford said. As TTAC pointed-out after hurricane Katrina knocked-out refineries, the big problem is that there’s no one federal standard for gasoline blends. A patchwork of state mandates guarantees supply disruptions when refining capacity is curtailed. Way to go regulators.
Posted in Industry | News Blog | Politics | 19 comments
Shock! Horror! Cindy McCain Drives A Lexus!
By Robert FaragoSeptember 21, 2008 -
After presidential candidate John McCain took a ration of you-know-what for his daughter’s Japanese-built Toyota Prius, Newsweek’s revelation that the McCains own 13 cars is bound to put the Arizona senator in the firing line. “McCain’s personal ride, a 2004 Cadillac CTS, is no gas sipper, but it should make Detroit happy because it’s made by General Motors. ‘I’ve bought American literally all my life and I’m proud,’ McCain said in the interview with Detroit’s WXYZ-TV. But the rest of his fleet is not all-American. There’s a 2005 Volkswagen convertible in the garage along with a 2001 Honda sedan. Otherwise, there’s a 2007 half-ton Ford pickup truck, which might come in handy on the Sedona ranch; a vintage 1960 Willys Jeep; a 2008 Jeep Wrangler; a 2000 Lincoln; and a 2001 GMC SUV. The McCains also own three 2000 NEV Gem electric vehicles, which are bubble-shaped cars popular in retirement communities.” And here’s the kicker: Johny’s Caddy is the only car registered in his name. “Cindy McCain’s name is on 11 vehicles, though not the one she actually drives. That car, a Lexus, is registered to her family’s beer-distributor business and is outfitted with personalized plates that read MS BUD.” Meanwhile, the Obamas own a Ford Escape Hyrbrid, after Barack took some heat for his “gas-guzzling” (Canadian-built) Chrysler 300C.
Posted in News Blog | Politics | 40 comments
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