- GMAC Asks for Fresh Lifeline
- Pay Czar Increased Base Pay at Firms
- Dem bill urges new US powers over financial firms
- U.S. home price gains may not be sustainable: Shiller
- Fears of a New Chill in Home Sales
- Icahn Sets Out to Derail CIT’s Revamp
- Shoppers Plan to Buy Fewer Gifts, Spend on Home, Deloitte Says
- Ford Fusion beats Camry, Accord in reliability rating
GMAC Asks for Fresh Lifeline - Wall Street Journal
In a stark reminder of how some battered financial firms remain dependent on government lifelines, GMAC Financial Services Inc. and the Treasury Department are in advanced talks to prop up the lender with its third helping of taxpayer money, people familiar with the matter said.
The U.S. government is likely to inject $2.8 billion to $5.6 billion of capital into the Detroit company, on top of the $12.5 billion that GMAC has received since December 2008, these people said. The latest infusion would come in the form of preferred stock. The government’s 35.4% stake in the company could increase if existing shares eventually are converted into common equity….
Pay Czar Increased Base Pay at Firms – Wall Street Journal
…..On average, base salaries climbed to $437,896 a year as a result of Mr. Feinberg’s review, compared with $383,409 previously, a 14% increase, according to a Journal analysis of Treasury data. Of the 136 employees under Mr. Feinberg’s review, 89 saw their base salaries increase.
At Citigroup, which is 34%-owned by the U.S. government, Mr. Feinberg agreed to more than double salaries for 13 of the 21 employees, according to the Journal’s analysis…
Dem bill urges new US powers over financial firms – Reuters
The U.S. government would gain far-reaching new powers to regulate, and even shut down, large financial firms that threaten economic stability under a draft bill released in Congress on Tuesday.
Congressional Democrats and the Obama administration agreed on the legislation, which seeks to protect taxpayers from having to pay for more bailouts, while holding financial firms to much higher capital standards…..
U.S. home price gains may not be sustainable: Shiller – Reuters
The gains in U.S. home prices in recent months may not be sustainable and increases in some areas of the country appear to be in “bubble territory,” an economist known for his property market expertise said on Tuesday.
Robert Shiller, an economics professor at Yale University and co-developer of Standard and Poor’s S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, told Reuters Television he does not give quantitative forecasts on where home prices are headed but is concerned about the recent pace of increases….
Fears of a New Chill in Home Sales – NY Times
Even as new figures show house prices have risen for three consecutive months, concerns are growing that the real estate market will be severely tested this winter.
Artificially low interest rates and a government tax credit are luring buyers, but both those inducements are scheduled to end. Defaults and distress sales are rising in the middle and upper price ranges. And millions of people have lost so much equity that they are locked into their homes for years, a modern variation of the Victorian debtor’s prison that is freezing a large swath of the market…..
Icahn Sets Out to Derail CIT’s Revamp – Wall Street Journal
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said it was time small bondholders “stood up” to CIT Group Inc. as he launched a campaign to derail the embattled small-business lender’s restructuring plans.
Mr. Icahn early Tuesday announced a 30-day tender offer for small CIT bondholders’ securities at 60 cents on the dollar, “assuring a floor price in the event the notes trade lower.” Mr. Icahn said bondholders wishing to participate in his offer must first vote against CIT’s proposed debt-exchange offer and prepackaged bankruptcy plan…..
Shoppers Plan to Buy Fewer Gifts, Spend on Home, Deloitte Says – Bloomberg
U.S. shoppers will buy fewer gifts and spend more on items such as clothes, entertaining and home furnishings during the holiday season, according to consulting firm Deloitte LLP.
Fifty-one percent of consumers polled said they hope to spend at least as much as last year during the holiday season, according to a survey to be released today. Fewer presents will be purchased, the study showed. Shoppers plan to cut spending on gifts to $452 from $532 last year and $569 in 2007….
Ford Fusion beats Camry, Accord in reliability rating – Detroit Free Press
Ford Motor Co. has secured its position as the only domestic automaker with world-class reliability, according to a report released today by Consumer Reports at a lunch event in Detroit hosted by the Automotive Press Association.
The findings for the trusted magazine’s 2009 Annual Car Reliability Survey are from 1.4 million consumer surveys combined with its own performance testing…..
Tags: Autos, bailout, Carl Icahn, Compensation, GMAC, Pay czar, Real Estate, Retailing
