Detroit

General Motors, struggling under the weight of a mountain of debt, is finding it difficult to raise cash. For one, the U.S. automaker is finding no buyers for its Swedish Saab unit, according to Swedish Daily "Dagens Nyheter."…

In an FT opinion piece, Jagdish Bhagwati, a famous name in economic circles on the issue of free trade, issued a blistering attack on president-elect Barack Obama's commitment to free trade in the face of a deteriorating U.S. job market.…

It may sound counter-intuitive to loosen credit standards when we are on the cusp of major job losses and bankruptcies. But, this is exactly what the newly minted bank GMAC is going to do with its free money from the TARP (Troubled Asset…

It seems that the bailouts are now turning into a "Beggar Thy Neighbor" policy of aid for specific sectors of the global economy. First, it was finance as the banks were savaged by massive writedowns to their property and derivative…

The issue of GM cannot be divorced from the broader issue of health care. Companies like Honda operate out of countries that made health and retirement benefits a national responsibility. And the perennially high price of gasoline, a…

The headlines about home prices are pretty dire, showing a record plunge in home prices of 16.3% over last year. In reality, it's not all doom and gloom. So, let's dig behind the headlines about the S&P/Case-Shiller Index released…

The S&P/Case-Shiller housing index is out for prices for June 2008. So, it's that time of the month again -- let's play the Case-Shiller time machine game. Basically, prices in the U.S. housing market have been falling for about two…

This commentary in the Financial Times from Byron Wien, the former Morgan Stanley guru, is spot on. Everyone making a decision to vote for President in the U.S. should heed Wien's word before pulling that lever.America’s decline will not…

The Case Shiller Index is out again and a number of areas are looking a bit better including Denver, Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, Portland, and Dallas. Overall, it seems the acceleration in house price falls has come to an end.…

Wow! I've heard of multi-year lows, but a 53-year low. That's painful. Look, let's not beat around the bush here. GM is in big trouble. They sell many products that people don't want anymore (gas guzzlers), their growth engine is…