Daily Archives: October 26, 2008

Another Fed Cut And Another OPEC Cut: 1+1=0

Tx00338coilwellgusherodessatexasposLas Vegas odds are currently 10-to-1 in favor that the Federal Reserve will cut rates at its upcoming meeting. This was not going to happen. The Fed is never to act just before a presidential election. It has the chance of putting its finger on the scales for one candidate or the other.

But, a deepening recession will trump precedent, and the agency will almost certainly cut rates to 1%, the equivalent of giving money away. It will be one more brick in the dam that the government is building to try to keep the sea of a deleveraging financial and housing system from swamping the economy for what many experts believe could be the better part of two years.

Read More »

Posted on: October 26, 2008 – 7:26 pm in Oil & Gas

As Porsche Takes Over VW, Big Three Find An Acquirer

Batmobile512Porsche is not a very big car company, but it has had some special rights to buy a significant amount of equity in the largest car company in Europe–VW. The VW management has not warmed to the idea. Who wants to report to people from a tiny sports car company which has as a best seller a $100,000 SUV?

The Porsche people do have guts. VW has learned that the hard way, and one of the Big Three may be about to learn it as well.

Read More »

Posted on: October 26, 2008 – 7:05 pm in Autos, ,

Companies Beyond Financial Sector Want Bailout Cash, A Bad Idea (C)(WFC)(NCC)(WB)

TreasuryToo many mouths to feed. Someone will have to starve.

Now that Henry Paulson has $700 billion and some discretion about how to spend it companies from car manufacturers to airlines want a piece. So do some municipalities. Insurance companies are already in the "salvation system", or at least AIG (AIG) is. But, its $123 billion came from a pot all of its own.That means Treasury has a bit more money.

Read More »

Posted on: October 26, 2008 – 6:48 am in Economy, , , ,