About 29 years ago -- in August 1979 -- Chrysler was at death's door. It made gas guzzlers that nobody wanted to buy and it asked for $1 billion to keep itself going until a fleet of more fuel efficient cars could take up the sales slack. If it failed, a Congressional Budget Office study said that 360,000 jobs would be lost.

The U.S. turned down Chrysler's request and offered loan guarantees to encourage banks to make Chrysler the loans it needed to cover its $100 million a month operating expenses until the new car line could hit the dealer floors. That story had a happy ending -- and offers some lessons for the current situation.

Except for the much smaller numbers this story sounds much like the plight of General Motors (NYSE: GM) . As I posted, GM is trying to convince the Congress that it will fail without a $25 billion bailout and that such a failure would cost 2.5 million jobs and $125 billion in lost economic activity. It remains to be seen whether the U.S. will come through with the money that GM wants.

Continue reading Why the 1979 Chrysler bailout worked -- temporarily

Why the 1979 Chrysler bailout worked -- temporarily originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

President Bush is no stranger to drug and alcohol addiction. So when he talks about addiction, he's an expert. In 2006's State of the Union Address he lamented America's addiction to oil. It happens that Houston, where his father lives, is the best city in America for business thanks to ita ability to satisfy this addiction. And he gave a speech there just this week about Wall Street getting drunk.

Continue reading America's debt and gasoline withdrawal pangs

America's debt and gasoline withdrawal pangs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 27 Jul 2008 09:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Democratic-led Congress seen hiking mpg standards

Democratic-led Congress seen hiking mpg standards originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Nov 2007 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Today in Money & Finance - 3/13 - Top dividend-paying stocks, how to live like a billionaire & $2 billion in unclaimed refunds originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Mar 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

DaimlerChrysler AG's (NYSE:DCX) is now looking for "serious" bidders for its money-losing Chrysler, unit, according to well-timed leaks to the media.

I always read about "serious" bidders in every prolonged mergers and acquisitions story. What the heck does that mean? Are their half-hearted bids? Joke bids? Of course not. This is just a stupid bit of jargon.

Getting back to Daimler, the automaker is hoping to narrow down the list of potential buyers before its April 4 shareholders meeting. Cerberus Capital Management and a group lead by Blackstone Group and Centerbridge Partners are the interested bidders, according to the Wall Street Journal.

It's interesting that most companies and investment bankers will never publicly discuss mergers and acquisitions with the media but will blab about them endless on a not-for-attribution basis when it serves their purposes. Daimler needs to show its shareholders that it's serious about unloading Chrysler. Bankers need to show current and potential clients that they are in the hunt for big deals.

They both have to plot their strategy without giving too much away to the press otherwise they will appear to be weak but they need to keep the story going. That's why every twist and turn of the merger process is dutifully told to the media on a background basis.

DaimlerChrylser seeks "serious" buyers for Chrysler -- whatever that means originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

U.S. stock markets are poised to open higher today following a rebound in Asia. Dow Industrials, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 index futures all advanced.

But investors' re-minted optimism may not last long.

Later today, the U.S. Labor Department is expected to revise its fourth-quarter productivity growth rate downward, while a U.S. Commerce Department report is expected to show a decline in January factory orders, according to the Associated Press. The National Association of Realtors also is due to report January pending home sales figures.

These are confusing times. Even I can't remember the right date for this post.

Forget about Bill O'Reilly, you are about the enter the real no-spin zone.

With an apparent straight face, DaimlerChrylser AG (NYSE:DCX) Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said that his company's willingness to dump -- I mean sell -- Chrysler isn't the result of pressure from either shareholders or his advisory board. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), the lovable Dr. Z calls it "proactive development, not a reactive development." How do you say BS in German?

U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, who apparently has been working with Dr. Z's PR consultants, told an audience in Japan that rising defaults among subrpime lenders won't spread to less risky creditors, according to Blooomberg News. Time to start snapping up shares of New Century Financial Corp. (NYSE:NEW).

Those boy scouts at Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) are apparently ready to say mean things about Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) cavalier attitude toward copyrights. When asked to comment, Google asked if "copyright" was some new Web 2.0 application or a new jam band. No seriously, Google chief counsel David Drummond repeated the company's line that it complies with existing laws. Then he started doing an impression of Aretha Franklin much to the horror of everyone.

But the gold star for excellence in public relations has to go to AAA Travel Group spokesman Geoff Sundstrum for this insightful analysis about the 12.2 cent rise in gasoline prices last week. "Certainly, no one wants to pay a high price for gasoline. But if you're feeling good about your job and your income, you're much more willing to do that than if you're concerned as to whether you'll be working a month or two from now," he told USA Today.

Interesting. I didn't realize that people with steady jobs are less worried about spending than those without them.

Before the Bell 3-06-07: Dow set to rise along with corporate spin originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Mar 2007 08:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.