The market staged an improbable rally. After selling off over 500 points yesterday and opening down over 100 points today, the Dow is about even. Wall St. may see a small ember…
The premise for Detroit going to Washington for $50 billion in loan guarantees is that the auto industry needs cheap money to retool factories that can build more fuel-efficient cars. US buyers…
According to Reuters, debt of Washington Mutual (WM) was cut to junk on a forecast of a $4.5 billion loss reserve. Reuters says that concerns about Lehman (LEH) spread to Merrill Lynch…
Since almost no one in the US or Europe is buying cars, auto companies have been looking to China for salvation. That does not put them in a different class from other…
In community college Economics 101 students learn that there can be dips in bull markets. Usually these are caused by a single event like a change in the party that runs Congress.…
According to Reuters, the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (FRE) was greeted with cautious optimism. Reuters says the the Justice Department has hired a litigator to look into antitrust issues…
According to Reuters, the government takeover of Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) will do little to help the mortgage market short-term. Reuters writes that Lehman (LEH) made a number of…
Ford (F) wants investors to think that there is profit in small cars. Since there is no money in SUVs and pick-ups, that is the company’s only option. Gas prices are probably…
The evidence that sales at many companies are struggling and that employment will suffer are almost everywhere. Recently, a division of GMAC said it would let 5,000 people go. According to MSNBC,…
"Worst case scenario" is a term used by people who have been out of business school for less that two years. It is a buffoon’s way of saying that a firm has…
Douglas A. McIntyre There was some ray of hope that the second half of the year would be OK when the government revised GDP up 2.2% for the second quarter. A number of economists looked…
Robert Lutz, the oldest car company executive in the history of the industry, recently said that Detroit could not raise the money it needs to retool its plants to build fuel-efficient cars.…
Toyota (TM) has already cut its sales targets for its fiscal 2008 year. Now it is taking down its forecast for 2009. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Japan’s biggest car maker…
Ford (F) Oil moves up. Drops to $4.25 from a 52-week high of $9.24. Nexmed (NEXM) Drug trial problems. Falls to $.23 from a 52-week high of $.1.87. Cell Genesys (CEGE) Drug…
Douglas A. McIntyre Short sellers believe that they have seen the bottom for financial shares and exited the industry en masse. Shares sold short in Merrill Lynch (MER) fell 12.6 million to 42.3 million. Short…
