- Did Chrysler Secured Lenders Get a Raw Deal? – Yves Smith
This is a VERY good synopsis of some of the issues surrounding the Chrysler bankruptcy. Definitely worth the read.
- RBS Posts Loss on $7.4 Billion Bad Loans, Writedowns – Bloomberg.com
“Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, the largest bank owned by the British government, had a first-quarter loss after writing down 4.9 billion pounds ($7.4 billion) as credit-market investments soured and bad loans increased in all its markets.”
- China April Auto Sales Jump 37% on Government Support – Bloomberg.com
Local drivers bought 831,000 cars, minivans and other passenger vehicles in April, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said in an e-mailed statement today. Vehicle sales, including buses and trucks, rose 25 percent to 1.15 million.
- Oil rises above $57 on economic hopes – Reuters
“Oil rose above $57 a barrel on Friday, near a six-month high, lifted by hopes of an economic recovery that could boost falling world oil demand.”
- Toyota reports record loss and predicts worse to come – Guardian
The loss, the first in almost six decades, was far worse than predicted and underlined the size of the task facing the world’s biggest carmaker, which was forced to slash production and jobs amid plummeting demand in the US and other vital export markets. Toyota also said it would cut its annual dividend forecast for the first time in 14 years to ¥100 per share from ¥140 last year. The proposed cut will be put to shareholders at their annual meeting in June and comes after Toyota’s annual dividend leaped six-fold in the space of a decade.”
- British banks must stay large enough to compete on world stage, says Myners – Guardian
Do you buy this line from the UK Treasury Minister? I don’t. Clearly, there are LOTS of people out there that are looking forward to a recovery in which no substantial reforms are made to the banking sector.
- Commercial Real Estate Under Stress as Refinancing Dries Up
Property backing commercial mortgage-backed securities is coming under increasing stress as refinancing options have been shut off, according to Standard & Poor’s.
- Intelligence Report: Pelosi Briefed on Use of Interrogation Tactics in Sept. ’02 – The Note
ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was briefed on the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” on terrorist suspect Abu Zubaydah in September 2002, according to a report prepared by the Director of National Intelligence’s office and obtained by ABC News.
- Inventory correction has further to go, say Standard Chartered – FT Alphaville
Here’s a look at inventories doing their thing to weigh down GDP growth now and boost it when recovery takes hold
- Wells Fargo to Sell $6 Billion in Stock – WSJ
This plugs half the hole. Maybe Buffett will cough up some cash.
- Meredith Whitney Clears Throat, Asks, “Excuse You?” – Dealbreaker
“Heidi Miller will be the first person on most recruitment lists for large financial services company CEOs… She will be a bank CEO by the end of the year.”
- Grading the Banks’ Stress Test – NY Times
“The stress test was put in place to determine whether the banks can get through the recession and shore up confidence in the federal oversight of the nation’s banks. Has this process achieved these goals? Or, as critics claim, has the process failed to measure the depth of the banks’ problems?”
- Palin Popularity Plunges in Alaska
A new Hays Research poll shows Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) now has 54% positive rating and 42% negative rating among Alaskan voters. That’s a dramatic change from the 86% positive and just 9% negative a year ago.”
- Firefox, like Google Chrome, to split processes across tabs – The Next Web
One of the most exciting developments of Google Chrome, and more recently IE 8, is its multiprocessing technology allowing for each tab to include its own running processes.
- Feds Give BofA And Citi 30 Days To Fire Their CEOs – Business Insider
One very interesting note, which David Zaring picked up on, is that in this 30 day period “…firms will need to review their existing management and Board in order to assure that the leadership of the firm has sufficient expertise and ability to manage the risks presented by the current economic environment.” In other words, if you’re on the least-favored CEO list — we’re looking at you Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit and Bank of America (BAC) CEO Ken Lewis — it’s time to start talking about succession, planning for the future and resignation.