Nice short interview which many have reported on—now you can read it direct.
I fear that the effect of the American economic stimulus plan won't be even half as big as expected.
Click on the following:
Joseph Stiglitz: "It's going to be bad, very bad" | Salon News
Banks maybe holding up merger with FIAT.
Because the banks hold debt secured by collateral, they have the right to take Chrysler plants and assets if the company files for bankruptcy protection. That means they may be better off with what's left of Chrysler in liquidation than what they'd get if they agree to restructure the debt.
Read the AP story by clicking the following: Report: Banks balk at efforts to cut Chrysler debt - Salon.com
The government plan does not allow banks to buy their own assets, but there is no ban on the purchase of securities and loans sold by others.
But public opinion may not tolerate the idea of banks selling each other their bad assets. Critics say that would leave the same amount of toxic assets in the system as before, but with the government now liable for most of the losses through its provision of non-recourse loans.
Read the entire article by clicking the following:
FT.com / Companies / Banks - Bailed-out banks eye toxic asset buys
I feel this is really a sign of a possible avalanche of Saturn dealers around the country going their own way.
Click on the following regarding the closure of three Saturn dealerships in KC: Saturn dealerships to close in KC area | Dollars & Sense
In fact, the money to be gained from exploiting this tax credit so dwarfs the money to be made in making paper
Taxpayers are paying the paper industry—handsomely[$8billion]--to use more fossil fuel. And this is not fiction. Read the rest of the story in The Nation.
Click on the following: Pulp Nonfiction
The actual shrinkage is one resident and $9,100 in sales tax.
Boone County, we are not alone. The rest of the country agrees that the “system” of government real estate assessing is not working. \
“The standard wisdom is that homeowners win on the upside and lose on the downside and over time that evens out,” she says. “But they don’t want to hear that it evens out when they’re worried about their job and their house value.”
Read the story by clicking on the following: As home values fall, property tax revolt brews | csmonitor.com
