“I’d hope that the general public in the United States would be wiser than to be deceived into thinking that the U.S. can ever be energy independent”
So says Prince Turki al-Faisal, of … where else? Saudi Arabia, of course, the worlds largest oil exporter, who has been one of our biggest suppliers of oil for entirely too long.
“You can’t get rid of oil. You can’t get rid of fossil fuels — gas and coal — unless you want to price yourself out of existence”
“If you are going to be paying for wind, electric and solar energy equivalents that cost five or 10 times more than it costs to use oil, you are going to price yourself out of the market. You are going to lose whatever competitiveness you have in your products.”
Sure sounds like someone’s worried that the endless stream of American dollars may eventually start to run dry.
The Treasury Department is directing General Motors to lay the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing by a June 1 deadline.
The goal is to prepare for a fast “surgical” bankruptcy, the people who had been briefed on the plans said. G.M., which has been granted $13.4 billion in federal aid, insists that a quick restructuring is necessary so its image and sales are not damaged permanently.
Treasury officials are examining one potential outcome in which the “good G.M.” enters and exits bankruptcy protection in as little as two weeks, using $5 billion to $7 billion in federal financing, a person who had been briefed on the prospect said last week.
The rest of G.M. may require as much as $70 billion in government financing, and possibly more to resolve the health care obligations and the liquidation of the factories, according to legal experts and federal officials.
Of course, GM could theoretically reach an agreement with the UAW and GM bondholders to exchange roughly $28 billion in debt into GM Equity before the deadline, but I’ll not start holding my breath now.
Remember CNBC reporter Rick Santellii? He’s the guy you may have seen on tv, ranting on the floor of the stock market, arguing against the $275 billion mortgage bailout.
Apparently Rick had agreed to come on Jon Stewart’s “Daily Show”, but then canceled at the last minute. Jon changed things up and instead of scheduling another guest, he delivered a scalding commentary on Wall Street’s hypocritical opposition to the homeowner bailout and on CNBC themselves.
You can watch the 8 minute clip here, thanks to Consumerist.com.
In his column yesterday at Time.com, Joel Stein explains exactly why so many people are angry about President Barack Obama’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan.
A lot of optimistic people bought houses near the historic height of the market, say November 2005, for absurdly high prices, say $1.12 million, in places like the eastern Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles. These people are very, very sad. Trust me on this. But the sudden drop in housing prices hasn’t made it any harder for these people to pay their loans. That’s because your home’s value is utterly irrelevant until you want to sell it…
…The only people affected by plummeting real estate prices are the ones who bought a house that cost more than they could afford, hoping for a spike in value so they could sell at a profit or take out a new loan based on an increased value. Their home wasn’t just a place to live; it was an investment they thought they could liquefy at will. If we’re saving these poor souls from the 26.7% drop in their investment, we should give twice as much aid to everyone who has lost approximately 50% in the stock market since its peak.
My wife and I bought a house we could afford, we drive pre-owned cars, we perform in depth price comparisons while shopping for anything, and then we wait for the item to go on sale before actually buying it.
Due to massive amounts of underemployment/unemployment, we’ve been forced to work with roughly half our regular income for the last 3 years. We made adjustments, cut expenses, and somehow managed to not make any late payments. But we’re now deeper in debt than we were, and even though we did the right thing and managed our finances responsibly, there’s not much we can look forward to receiving in the way of relief.
Now I have to help cover the mortgage for some douche who bought a home he couldn’t afford, at an inflated price, who was hoping to flip the place for a quick profit later?
No thanks.
If we reimbursed people who lost cash on risky investments — or “subsidize the losers’ mortgages” — we’d create a moral hazard, telling everyone there’s no risk to gambling. It’s why parents fight their instinct to save their kids from the consequences of their mistakes.
Joel gets it. Me, my family, and countless others get it.
I’ve talked a few times about GM now, mostly because I have a sentimental attraction towards many classic GM products, would love to see the Volt become a success, and can genuinely say that I like a lot of their cars. While we all know that GM is in a world of financial shit (Chrysler is in it too, just not as deep), I guess I was hoping this part of GM would not have to be cut down.
“All high-performance projects are on indefinite hold. – Vince Muniga, GM Spokesman
No doubt it was a foolish hope of mine, but after seeing the the performance of the V-Series Cadillacs, and seeing the teams potential in cars like the Chevrolet Cobalt SS and the HHR SS, I was looking forward to what else might come from these talented engineers. I still firmly believe that domestic automakers should need to compete on the same playing field as their import competitors, and that includes comparable small performance automobiles that are within reach of the average buyer.
As for the Plan itself? GM is requesting an additional $16.6 billion, bringing the total amount of money lent to $30 billion if approved. GM proposes that they will be able to start repaying the loans in 2012, assuming all goes as planned. HUMMER will be sold or phased out, SAAB will request assistance from the Swedish government (and will be filing bankruptcy at the end of the month if no agreement with Sweden is reached), and as for poor Saturn… the brand will be laid to rest in about 3 years when the current product cycle ends unless the dealers and investors can come up with a way to sell it or spin off the line into something else.
Going forward, GM will mainly focus on the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC brands, with Pontiac morphing into a niche brand with fewer models.
As the Tuesday deadline for submission of a restructuring plan draws closer, unnamed sources close to GM told the Wall Street Journal that one General Motors plan includes a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that would create a new company.
“One plan includes a Chapter 11 filing that would assemble all of GM’s viable assets, including some U.S. brands and international operations, into a new company,” the newspaper said. “The undesirable assets would be liquidated or sold under protection of a bankruptcy court. Contracts with bondholders, unions, dealers and suppliers would also be reworked.”
Citing “people familiar with the matter,” the story said that GM could also ask for additional government funds to stave off a bankruptcy filing.
GM has declined to comment at this time, but has already announced layoffs of nearly 15% of company employees, and pay cuts for those remaining. This is not the first time that of Chapter 11 has been mentioned here, but with restructuring negotiations between bondholders and the UAW unlikely to end before the deadline, GM is likely running out of time.
I understand that mistakes can be made, and sometimes things slip through the vetting process… but 4 times now?
Timothy Geithner (our new Secretary of Treasury) not only failed to pay all of his taxes, he was also one of the regulators who seemingly turned and looked away while Citigroup spun towards what would become the biggest bank rescue in US history. Tom Daschle, in addition to having been paid over 5 million dollars by various health insurance companies and hospitals, hasn’t paid over $120k in taxes, and as such has withdrawn his nomination to head up the Department of Health and Human Services.
But wait, there’s more. Nancy Killefer withdrew her nomination to be the nations first “chief performance officer” due to issues regarding payroll taxeson her household help. And of course, let’s not forget Bill Richardson, who withdrew his nomination for commerce secretary due to a grand jury investigation over how New Mexico’s state contracts were issued to political donors.
So again I say to you, Mr. President – what the fuck is going on here? You know, when private citizens fail to pay taxes, we generally are hit with fines and penalties, not nominations to public office.
The source of the metal appears to be caustic soda and hydrochloric acid, which manufacturers of corn syrup use to help convert corn kernels into the food additive.
…the average American consumes about 12 teaspoons of it (high-fructose corn syrup) daily, according to federal estimates
An FDA spokesman said he still was waiting for a response to the study. Industry representatives, meanwhile, said the study was outdated.
“It is important that Americans are provided accurate, science-based information,” Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, said in a statement. “They should know that high fructose corn syrup is safe.”
But you know? I think I’ll pass just the same, Ms. Erickson -
In another statement, the Chlorine Institute said: “It is conceivable that measurable mercury content can be found in high fructose corn syrup regardless of how it is processed.”
Unable to find a buyer or a refinancing deal, Circuit City will be closing all 567 US stores. Remaining merchandise will be sold by liquidators, and some 35,000 people are now out of a job.
“This is the only possible path for our company,” Circuit City’s acting Chief Executive James A. Marcum said in a statement. “We are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”
It is still unclear what will happen to the 765 retail stores and outlets in Canada, as there are still bids for the Canadian business.
While the loss of these jobs is horrible and couldn’t come at a worse time, in my personal experience Circuit City never came close to performing as well as its competitors and sadly, this is the end result.
The painful truth companies must face is that no longer will customers continue to put up with bad service, high prices and poor selection, and with the economy growing worse daily, that will not be changing any time soon.
With Joe the Plumber “War Correspondent” telling the media that they shouldn’t be doing their job, it was only a matter of time before a real reporter took a moment to comment.
SANCHEZ:
Meanwhile, something else to take note of today. I want to share with you the thoughts of Samuel Wurzelbacher — you know, “Joe the Plumber” — now Joe the war correspondent. Yes, he’s been in Israel filing reports.
And here’s his analysis, as reported by the Associated Press. You’re going to love this: “I don’t think journalists should be anywhere around war. I mean you guys report where our troops are at. You report what’s happening day to day. You make a big deal out of it. I think it’s asinine. I think media should be abolished from, you know, reporting, war is hell.”
There you have it.
Samuel, let me talk to you directly.
First, I was born in a communist country, so I’m familiar with people like you — and Fidel Castro, by the way — not to name drop — who also think “that media should be abolished.”
Number two, I’ve covered wars. And while I can’t speak for war correspondents who put their lives on the line every day, I can tell you, what they do is requisite — essential to our democracy.
Whether you’ve insulted them is up to them to tell you.
But I will tell you who you have insulted. Forty-one journalists were killed last year — two already killed this year — while trying to practice their craft. They can’t speak for themselves, because they’re no longer with us, Samuel.
And their children, their wives and husbands, their fathers and mothers — they don’t have a TV show.
So on behalf of them, Sam, let’s see, you’re not really a licensed plumber. You’re not really a war correspondent. And your name isn’t even really Joe. I think we all do know, though, who you are.
You know that guy who lives down the street — the guy who shows up at the backyard barbecue when there’s free food?
You know that guy?
He knows everything about everything, but really knows nothing, hates everything and everybody. He can’t understand why anybody would find any fault with him. You know, the obnoxious guy — there’s always one at every party or every gathering on every block. You know that guy. We all know that guy.
Well, that guy wasn’t made famous by John McCain and Sarah Palin. You were, Sam. So we’re stuck with you. But it doesn’t mean that we can’t call you out.