Wall Street Folly

• Obama Indicates He’s Willing to Consider Risk Fee for Banks
• Pelosi Says She Has Votes to Pass House Health Plan
• Berkshire Hathaway reduces stake in Moody’s
• AIG Held Off Bonuses Planned for Last Week
• Goldman Relents, but Not Chase
• Credit Suisse Profit Rises 29% on Gains From Trading Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: AIG, Amazon, Autos, Barack Obama, Berkshire Hathaway, CIT, Credit Suisse, Ford, Fraudsters, Goldman Sachs, Health Care, Politics, SEC, Warren Buffett

• High Court Asked to Delay Fiat Deal
• Palm Pre Sells Out as Sprint Customers Line Up for Thin Stock
• Gas prices above $2.60
• Ford to Face Tougher Rivals Following U.S. Rescue
• Chrysler dealers scramble to unload vehicles
• Chrysler Legal Releases for Officers Opposed By U.S.
• Bank of America Stocks Board With Ex-Regulators, Former Bankers
• Penske ‘a Good Home’ for Saturn as GM Shrinks in Bankruptcy
• Filene’s Basement Sold to Men’s Wearhouse Affiliate for $62 Mln
• Weinstein Company Takes Step to Ease Debt Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Apple, Autos, Bank of America, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Headline Roundup, iPhone, SCOTUS

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Tags: Autos, CDS, David Einhorn, Deutsche Bank, Ford, Greenlight Capital, Insider Trading, Legg Mason, Millennium Partners, redemptions, SEC

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Tags: Autos, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Henry Paulson

A USA Today / Gallup poll is throwing some water on the auto industry's contention that no one would buy a car from a manufacturer in Bankruptcy.  We've never believes the auto industry propoganda either, assuming that the U.S. government backstops warranties:

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Tags: Autos, Bankruptcy, Chrysler, Ford, GM

Watching CSPAN: Admitting that they don't have the 60 votes needed to pass an auto bailout plan, Harry Reid said "I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow. It's not going to be a pleasant sight.  Millions of Americans, not only the auto workers,  but people who sell cars, car dealerships, people who work on cars, are going to be directly impacted and affected and as I mentioned earlier today, Christmas is approaching.  It's going to be a very, very bad Christmas for a lot of people as a result of what takes place here tonight."

A vote will be taking place in a little while.

Christopher Dodd: "I'm saddened and worried."

Futures have been getting hit since just before Harry Reid spoke (around 10:10pm).  The S&P futures have dropped around 20 points since then (and down around 33 points since the evening futures session began)….

Tags: Autos, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Politics

This is a MUST WATCH!:  If you missed Saturday Night Live this weekend, you missed an hilarious spot on skit on the Senate hearings where the auto CEOs, fresh off of their corporate jets, begged hat in hand for a bailout.  It's about 8 minutes long.

Tags: Chrysler, Credit Crunch, Ford, GM, Politics

NY Post Page Six sightings: "TREASURY Secretary Hank Paulson – unlike automotive moguls who fly on corporate jets – in first class on an LA-DC American Airlines red-eye"

Tags: Autos, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Henry Paulson, Private jets

Earlier in today's House Financial Services Committee hearing, where the CEOs of GM, Ford and Chrysler, hats in hand, were begging for bailout dollars, a congressman from NY — we didn't catch his name — noted his shock that the CEOs flew in on private jets.

Just minutes ago, another congressman — took them to task again over the private jets.  He asked which of the CEOs flew commercial and asked for a show of hands. "Let the record show — no hands went up".  Then he asked them, by a show of hands, if they planned to sell their private jets and fly back commercial.  "Let the record show — no hands went up".

That was pretty sad / telling / hilarious, all rolled up into one.

Tags: Bankruptcy, Chrysler, Credit Crunch, Ford, GM, Politics, Private jets

Google has yet to sponsor one (kind of surprising given that they’re always on the lookout for talent), but the concept is now spreading to other cities.  We’re not holding our breath for this concept to spread to Wall Street (but if ever did, we’d avoid Bear Stearns….):

In a phenomenon dubbed Lunch 2.0, workers
in the Valley are descending on other companies for free food and the chance to
satisfy their appetite for making contacts.

It started with four men trying to sneak
into companies such as Yahoo and Google to sample their free gourmet lunches.

But the idea has been picked up and
developed. Several companies have begun inviting all-comers for a free lunch.

Except, of course, it is not free. The
lunches are partly about networking and eating, but they are also about pitching
products and sizing up talent.

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Tags: Ford, Google, Recruiting

Ford’s Mark Fields will now be taking commercial flights for his weekly trip down to Florida where his family lives:

Fields has come under criticism for the perk in recent months as the struggling automaker moves to eliminate more than 40,000 jobs and trim employee benefits to cut costs. He recently was surprised outside his home in Delray Beach, Fla., by a local TV news reporter who asked him to explain how he could reconcile the costly travel arrangement with his calls for sacrifice from Ford employees.

Ford spokesman Tom Hoyt confirmed Fields’ decision. He said Fields concluded the controversy was diverting attention away from more important issues — namely Ford’s efforts to turnaround its North American automobile business.

"He doesn’t want this or any other issue to distract the team," Hoyt said, adding that decision was Fields’ alone. "This was Mark’s decision. The company supported his commitment to his family."

Ford exec halts controversial use of corporate jets – Detroit News

Tags: Autos, Commuting, Ford