General Motors, the nation's largest automaker, today stood on the brink of bankruptcy and an effective government takeover. President Obama will address the nation at 11:30 a.m. ET Monday to discuss the bankruptcy, two officials close to the situation told CNN. It is expected that GM will detail some 20,000 job cuts and the closure of about a dozen plants by the end of 2010.
20k out of 150m or so. No big whoop statistically.. Who came up with these green shoots? Suddenly the US is a nation of horticulturists.
I think it's 'bamboo shoots', and they shove them under your fingernails. People are still oblivious of the fact that when one guy loses a job, another 1 or 2 guys lose theirs'. Somebody said, 'don't you think the job market is bottoming? It's been 650,000 for several weeks in a row!!!!!" What market ever bottomed like that? Check some of the restaurants, dry cleaners, gin mills, any upscalestore. What was TIF down? 60%? You really think the government is going to fix the car industry? You have pensions all over the country bleeding like cheap shirts in the wash. If you were in your fifties, and you saw that, are you making major purchases? And if you're forced to, where on the scale do you go? Cheaper. And where is the markup? In the car business, accessories, life insurance (can you say 'ripoff'???), all those add on things at the end. The basic car gets them nothing but saving on floor money. and have you ever seen car guys bring lunch? The other day, Costco earnings missed, Dollar Tree hit. Figure it out. and people are going to get tighter and tighter as time goes on. I guarantee you, the average Joe who is still spending is not getting ahead, and the longer that goes on, the tighter he gets. All so avoidable. That 's the sad part. Capitalism is going to take the hit for graft. And Bush and Clinton rake in 160 a piece for a bullshit session, and pose together like a couple of frat boys that just shared the same hooker. Watch the papers. Art Samberg was the tip of the iceberg. I want to see the markets reaction when the big boys do the Perp Walk. It's going to hurt, but it has to happen. Coinfidence has to be restored; we need new players, and the old ones have to take a hit.