WASHINGTON — House and Senate leaders proposed a compromise plan Tuesday to give shuttered General Motors and Chrysler dealers an appeals process to keep their showrooms open.
Congressional aides said a broad $1.1 trillion spending bill would include language providing 789 Chrysler dealers closed in June and more than 1,350 GM dealers expected to be shut down next year an improved binding arbitration process to challenge the automakers' decisions.
General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC said last week they would reconsider decisions to close the dealers as part of a compromise meant to set aside action by Congress to force them to keep the dealers open. The plans called for face-to-face reviews with dealerships and binding arbitration for dealers who challenge the decisions.
But dealers and key lawmakers said the automakers' proposals failed to go far enough.
A compromise developed by Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate majority whip, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., would require the arbitration panels to consider a broad range of circumstances, giving some car dealerships a better chance of surviving.
"Closed dealerships across the country deserve a transparent review of their termination and the right to get back in business if they were terminated on faulty grounds," Durbin said in a statement.
The arbiter would consider issues such as the economic interests of the terminated dealer, the company and the public, the dealer's profitability during the past four years and conditions that could have led to a poor sales performance, including natural disasters and a poor local economy.
The companies have declined to provide estimates of how many dealers could be restored through the appeals process. The legislation, which could be modified, was not expected to affect dealers who sell Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn vehicles, which are being phased out by GM.
Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, emerging from a closed-door meeting with Michigan lawmakers on Tuesday, said he was confident they would reach a resolution. "Eventually we will," Marchionne said.
GM said in a statement that it was working on a "resolution that balances the interests of GM and its dealers."
(This version CORRECTS $1.1 billion to $1.1 trillion. Moving on general news and financial services.)
News Source: The Associated Press.
Support for your project small business strategic corporate marketing plan.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Dollar jumps vs. yen, other currencies after jobs data
The dollar gained the most since June against a basket of currencies on Friday after a report showed a surprisingly shallow drop in U.S. jobs, raising expectations of a stronger U.S. recovery that could prompt the Federal Reserve to hike rates earlier than some had forecast.
"There's a sense that the U.S. is beginning to catch up and the recovery isn't as feeble as people thought," said Steven Englander, a currency strategist at Barclays Capital. "The shift is helping the dollar."
The dollar index /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 (DXY 75.91, +1.28, +1.72%) , which measures the performance of the dollar against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, jumped 1.6%, the most since June on a closing basis. It reached 75.819 from 74.619 in late North American trading Thursday.
The index is headed toward a 1.1% gain for the week, the best return since late October. It's still down 6.6% for the year.
News Hub: Jobs Data and the Economy
WSJ's Phil Izzo breaks down some of the details of today's jobs report that ran contrary to expectations, including a decline in jobs in the manufacturing sector. Plus, Evan Newmark and Dennis Berman discuss market outlook heading into the end of the year.
The dollar surged 2.4% against the Japanese yen on Friday to 90.51 yen, the highest since Nov. 12 and pushing it to a 4.4% gain on the week.
The euro fell 1.4% to $1.4847, falling below the key $1.50 level.
The shared currency is little changed on the week versus the dollar.
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy shed 11,000 jobs last month, a fraction of what analysts anticipated. The unemployment rate also surprisingly declined. See more on jobs data.
U.S. stocks posted strong gains, while U.S. Treasury bonds fell sharply, sending yields higher.
The data also sparked a big move in interest-rate futures, with traders raising bets that the Fed will increase its target rate by mid-2010. See more on fed futures in bond column.
Fed-funds futures are now fully pricing in a hike to 0.50% by August, from the current range of zero to 0.25%.
Futures for December 2010 imply a higher chance that the benchmark rate could reach 1% by then.
With a "light at the end of the tunnel of long and deep job losses," the market is reassessing the trajectory of Fed policy, Marc Chandler, currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., said in a note to clients.
"The dollar's weakness is largely cyclical in nature, rather than structural," he said. "The key cyclical driver was the extraordinarily aggressive monetary policy and the ample dollar liquidity. When these are normalized, we expect the dollar to find great traction."
The Canadian dollar rose 0.6% against its U.S. counterpart in earlier trading on Friday after data showed that Canada's employment rose by 79,000 jobs in November, much more than some economists expected, bringing the unemployment rate down 0.1 percentage point to 8.5%. The Canadian currency was little changed in recent trading.
Deborah Levine is a MarketWatch reporter, based in New York. Polya Lesova is reporter for MarketWatch, based in Frankfurt. Lisa Twaronite in Tokyo contributed to this report.
News Source: marketwatch.com
Project Small Business
"There's a sense that the U.S. is beginning to catch up and the recovery isn't as feeble as people thought," said Steven Englander, a currency strategist at Barclays Capital. "The shift is helping the dollar."
The dollar index /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 (DXY 75.91, +1.28, +1.72%) , which measures the performance of the dollar against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, jumped 1.6%, the most since June on a closing basis. It reached 75.819 from 74.619 in late North American trading Thursday.
The index is headed toward a 1.1% gain for the week, the best return since late October. It's still down 6.6% for the year.
News Hub: Jobs Data and the Economy
WSJ's Phil Izzo breaks down some of the details of today's jobs report that ran contrary to expectations, including a decline in jobs in the manufacturing sector. Plus, Evan Newmark and Dennis Berman discuss market outlook heading into the end of the year.
The dollar surged 2.4% against the Japanese yen on Friday to 90.51 yen, the highest since Nov. 12 and pushing it to a 4.4% gain on the week.
The euro fell 1.4% to $1.4847, falling below the key $1.50 level.
The shared currency is little changed on the week versus the dollar.
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy shed 11,000 jobs last month, a fraction of what analysts anticipated. The unemployment rate also surprisingly declined. See more on jobs data.
U.S. stocks posted strong gains, while U.S. Treasury bonds fell sharply, sending yields higher.
The data also sparked a big move in interest-rate futures, with traders raising bets that the Fed will increase its target rate by mid-2010. See more on fed futures in bond column.
Fed-funds futures are now fully pricing in a hike to 0.50% by August, from the current range of zero to 0.25%.
Futures for December 2010 imply a higher chance that the benchmark rate could reach 1% by then.
With a "light at the end of the tunnel of long and deep job losses," the market is reassessing the trajectory of Fed policy, Marc Chandler, currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., said in a note to clients.
"The dollar's weakness is largely cyclical in nature, rather than structural," he said. "The key cyclical driver was the extraordinarily aggressive monetary policy and the ample dollar liquidity. When these are normalized, we expect the dollar to find great traction."
The Canadian dollar rose 0.6% against its U.S. counterpart in earlier trading on Friday after data showed that Canada's employment rose by 79,000 jobs in November, much more than some economists expected, bringing the unemployment rate down 0.1 percentage point to 8.5%. The Canadian currency was little changed in recent trading.
Deborah Levine is a MarketWatch reporter, based in New York. Polya Lesova is reporter for MarketWatch, based in Frankfurt. Lisa Twaronite in Tokyo contributed to this report.
News Source: marketwatch.com
Project Small Business
Friday, December 4, 2009
Putin Drops Hint About Run for Russian Presidency
Vladimir Putin defended his record after a decade in power as Russian president and prime minister and hinted he may upstage his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, by running for the presidency again in 2012.
“Don’t hold your breath,” Putin, 57, said during his annual call-in show yesterday when asked if he planned to retire from politics. There’s still “enough time” to think about the elections, said Putin, who favored Medvedev’s presidency last year because the constitution bans three consecutive terms.
Medvedev, who is seeking a political voice distinct from his mentor’s, only hours later told reporters in Rome that he also doesn’t rule out running in the next elections. The 44-year old lawyer outlined his vision for a modern, democratic Russia in an address to the nation three weeks ago.
Russia’s top two politicians are jostling for the public’s attention even as they profess a close working relationship and shared goals. Medvedev is staking out his own territory by criticizing the oil-based economic growth of Putin’s presidency, deploring the glorification of Soviet leader Josef Stalin and calling for an end to corruption and cronyism.
In a four-hour call-in show, Putin fielded dozens of questions from citizens, who quizzed him on pensions, schools, medical care and job security. Putin, who began the tradition of the show during his eight-year presidency, reeled off figures from memory and outlined government programs, reminding viewers that “not all problems can be solved from Moscow.”
Government Defense
He defended his government’s performance in Russia’s biggest economic crisis in a decade, saying the worst was over and that growth may pick up in the middle of 2010 after contracting between 8.5 percent and 8.7 percent this year. He recalled the aftermath of Russia’s 1998 default, when inflation hit 84 percent, banks collapsed and savings were wiped out.
There is no reason for Cabinet changes, Putin told reporters after the live broadcast. He rejected the idea of firing the entire Russian police force and starting anew, saying not all officers should be considered corrupt or abusive.
Putin, who as president oversaw a return of state control to some of Russia’s key businesses, said the measure was a temporary effort to consolidate industries that had been broken up in the transition from a communist command economy.
“State corporations are neither good nor bad -- they’re necessary,” Putin said. “And I’d like to underscore that we have a common position in the country’s leadership.”
Stalin Assessment
Putin diverged farthest from Medvedev when asked for his opinion of Stalin. The prime minister said it wasn’t possible to make an “overall assessment,” since the Soviet leader was responsible for Russia’s industrialization and victory in World War II, as well as crimes against millions of his own citizens.
Medvedev said in October that “the memory of national tragedies is no less sacred than the memory of victories,” and that nothing could justify Stalin’s “great terror” 70 years ago.
Putin’s show lasted almost an hour longer than last year’s and cut off the beginning of a live broadcast of Medvedev’s visit to Rome yesterday.
State television advertised the show since the beginning of the week, showing Putin criticizing bureaucrats, picnicking with farmers and inspecting a new Lada car. More than 2 million questions and comments were submitted by citizens by phone, SMS and e-mail, according to the Vesti news channel. The show was called “A Conversation with Vladimir Putin. Continued.”
News Source: bloomberg.com
Project Small Business
“Don’t hold your breath,” Putin, 57, said during his annual call-in show yesterday when asked if he planned to retire from politics. There’s still “enough time” to think about the elections, said Putin, who favored Medvedev’s presidency last year because the constitution bans three consecutive terms.
Medvedev, who is seeking a political voice distinct from his mentor’s, only hours later told reporters in Rome that he also doesn’t rule out running in the next elections. The 44-year old lawyer outlined his vision for a modern, democratic Russia in an address to the nation three weeks ago.
Russia’s top two politicians are jostling for the public’s attention even as they profess a close working relationship and shared goals. Medvedev is staking out his own territory by criticizing the oil-based economic growth of Putin’s presidency, deploring the glorification of Soviet leader Josef Stalin and calling for an end to corruption and cronyism.
In a four-hour call-in show, Putin fielded dozens of questions from citizens, who quizzed him on pensions, schools, medical care and job security. Putin, who began the tradition of the show during his eight-year presidency, reeled off figures from memory and outlined government programs, reminding viewers that “not all problems can be solved from Moscow.”
Government Defense
He defended his government’s performance in Russia’s biggest economic crisis in a decade, saying the worst was over and that growth may pick up in the middle of 2010 after contracting between 8.5 percent and 8.7 percent this year. He recalled the aftermath of Russia’s 1998 default, when inflation hit 84 percent, banks collapsed and savings were wiped out.
There is no reason for Cabinet changes, Putin told reporters after the live broadcast. He rejected the idea of firing the entire Russian police force and starting anew, saying not all officers should be considered corrupt or abusive.
Putin, who as president oversaw a return of state control to some of Russia’s key businesses, said the measure was a temporary effort to consolidate industries that had been broken up in the transition from a communist command economy.
“State corporations are neither good nor bad -- they’re necessary,” Putin said. “And I’d like to underscore that we have a common position in the country’s leadership.”
Stalin Assessment
Putin diverged farthest from Medvedev when asked for his opinion of Stalin. The prime minister said it wasn’t possible to make an “overall assessment,” since the Soviet leader was responsible for Russia’s industrialization and victory in World War II, as well as crimes against millions of his own citizens.
Medvedev said in October that “the memory of national tragedies is no less sacred than the memory of victories,” and that nothing could justify Stalin’s “great terror” 70 years ago.
Putin’s show lasted almost an hour longer than last year’s and cut off the beginning of a live broadcast of Medvedev’s visit to Rome yesterday.
State television advertised the show since the beginning of the week, showing Putin criticizing bureaucrats, picnicking with farmers and inspecting a new Lada car. More than 2 million questions and comments were submitted by citizens by phone, SMS and e-mail, according to the Vesti news channel. The show was called “A Conversation with Vladimir Putin. Continued.”
News Source: bloomberg.com
Project Small Business
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Most in U.S. want public health option: poll
Most Americans would like to see a "public option" in health insurance reform but doubt anything Congress does will lower costs or improve care in the short term, according to a poll released on Thursday.
The survey of 2,999 households by Thomson Reuters Corp shows a public skeptical about the cost, quality and accessibility of medical care.
Just under 60 percent of those surveyed said they would like a public option as part of any final healthcare reform legislation, which Republicans and a few Democrats oppose.
Here are some of the results of the telephone survey of 2,999 households called from November 9-17 as part of the Thomson Reuters PULSE Healthcare Survey:
* Believe in public option: 59.9 percent yes, 40.1 percent no.
* 86 percent of Democrats support the public option versus 57 percent of Independents and 33 percent of Republicans.
* Quality of healthcare will be better 12 months from now: 35 percent strongly disagree. 11.6 percent strongly agree. 29.9 percent put themselves in the middle.
* Believe the amount of money spent on healthcare will be less 12 months from now: 52 percent strongly disagree, 13 percent strongly agree.
* 23 percent believe it will be easier for people to receive the care they need a year from now.
The nationally representative survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percent.
The House of Representatives passed a healthcare overhaul bill last month.
The Senate is debating a plan and will vote on Thursday on competing measures to ensure women have access to mammograms and other preventive screenings and amendments on proposed spending cuts in the Medicare government health program for the elderly.
If the Senate passes a bill, the two versions will have to be reconciled and passed again by each chamber before being sent to President Barack Obama for his signature.
The Senate plan is designed to slow the rate of growth in healthcare, expand coverage to about 30 million uninsured Americans and halt industry practices such as denying coverage to those with pre-existing medical conditions.
It would require everyone to have insurance, provide federal subsidies to help them pay for it and establish a new government-run insurance option to compete with private industry.
Thomson Reuters is the parent company of Reuters.
News Source: reuters.com
Project Small Business
The survey of 2,999 households by Thomson Reuters Corp shows a public skeptical about the cost, quality and accessibility of medical care.
Just under 60 percent of those surveyed said they would like a public option as part of any final healthcare reform legislation, which Republicans and a few Democrats oppose.
Here are some of the results of the telephone survey of 2,999 households called from November 9-17 as part of the Thomson Reuters PULSE Healthcare Survey:
* Believe in public option: 59.9 percent yes, 40.1 percent no.
* 86 percent of Democrats support the public option versus 57 percent of Independents and 33 percent of Republicans.
* Quality of healthcare will be better 12 months from now: 35 percent strongly disagree. 11.6 percent strongly agree. 29.9 percent put themselves in the middle.
* Believe the amount of money spent on healthcare will be less 12 months from now: 52 percent strongly disagree, 13 percent strongly agree.
* 23 percent believe it will be easier for people to receive the care they need a year from now.
The nationally representative survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percent.
The House of Representatives passed a healthcare overhaul bill last month.
The Senate is debating a plan and will vote on Thursday on competing measures to ensure women have access to mammograms and other preventive screenings and amendments on proposed spending cuts in the Medicare government health program for the elderly.
If the Senate passes a bill, the two versions will have to be reconciled and passed again by each chamber before being sent to President Barack Obama for his signature.
The Senate plan is designed to slow the rate of growth in healthcare, expand coverage to about 30 million uninsured Americans and halt industry practices such as denying coverage to those with pre-existing medical conditions.
It would require everyone to have insurance, provide federal subsidies to help them pay for it and establish a new government-run insurance option to compete with private industry.
Thomson Reuters is the parent company of Reuters.
News Source: reuters.com
Project Small Business
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Obama's focus on withdrawal could jeopardize Afghan mission
President Barack Obama outlined his buildup and exit strategy for American troops in Afghanistan on Tuesday. Some observers say his focus on troop withdrawal could jeopardize the American mission there.
WASHINGTON -- In a bid to reassure Democrats who oppose the deployment of another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan and to pressure Afghan President Hamid Karzai to reform his corruption-riddled government, President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that some U.S. troops would begin coming home in 19 months.
In so doing, however, Obama may have set himself up for further setbacks.
The Taliban, al Qaeda, their allies and their patrons in Pakistan and the Middle East may see the deadline as signaling a lack of U.S. staying power, diluting incentives to insurgents to switch sides or engage in meaningful negotiations on a political accord.
Instead, they may persevere in their fight, believing they can run out the clock, further erode support in the United States for the war as congressional elections loom in 2010, while pumping up their own ranks. Some members of the U.S.-led international force have already announced their intention to leave.
``It's a big mistake,'' a U.S. defense official who requested anonymity said of Obama's announcement that a U.S. withdrawal would begin in 19 months. ``It just tells the Taliban and everyone else how long they need to last.''
The official said the deadline also could discourage Karzai from acting on U.S. demands to crack down on high-level corruption, implement political reforms and rid the government of warlords who oversaw the rigging of his recent reelection in return for shares in the new government.
``This is also a bold gamble in terms of domestic politics,'' said Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution, a former CIA and White House advisor official who helped Obama draft the initial Afghanistan strategy speech he delivered in March. ``His own party is increasingly divided. The liberal base is tired of it [the war]. The party is haunted by the ghost of Vietnam.''
In his televised address from West Point, Obama said the deadline would encourage Karzai to assume more responsibility for running his country and the war.
``Just as we have done in Iraq, we will execute this transition responsibly, taking into account conditions on the ground,'' said Obama. ``But it will be clear to the Afghan government -- and, more importantly, to the Afghan people -- that they will ultimately be responsible for their own country,'' Obama said.
Obama's reference to ``conditions on the ground'' suggested that the U.S. troop drawdown could be slowed or halted if the war continues to go badly or if Karzai fails to implement reforms and clean up his government.
At the same time, Obama acknowledged the growing costs of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq at a time of financial crisis and 10.3 percent unemployment.
``We simply cannot afford to ignore the price of these wars,'' he said.
``This approach makes perfect sense in the context of American politics, where compromise is the order of the day,'' said a senior U.S. intelligence official with long experience in the Middle East and South Asia, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he is critical of the president's policy. ``It makes a lot less sense in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where you either win or you lose, and whoever lasts longer usually wins.''
``Our enemies believe we'll always cut and run, like they say we did in Lebanon and Somalia, and by the same token, our allies don't trust us to stand with them for as long as it takes,'' said a senior U.S. military official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media.
News Source: miamiherald.com
Project Small Business
WASHINGTON -- In a bid to reassure Democrats who oppose the deployment of another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan and to pressure Afghan President Hamid Karzai to reform his corruption-riddled government, President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that some U.S. troops would begin coming home in 19 months.
In so doing, however, Obama may have set himself up for further setbacks.
The Taliban, al Qaeda, their allies and their patrons in Pakistan and the Middle East may see the deadline as signaling a lack of U.S. staying power, diluting incentives to insurgents to switch sides or engage in meaningful negotiations on a political accord.
Instead, they may persevere in their fight, believing they can run out the clock, further erode support in the United States for the war as congressional elections loom in 2010, while pumping up their own ranks. Some members of the U.S.-led international force have already announced their intention to leave.
``It's a big mistake,'' a U.S. defense official who requested anonymity said of Obama's announcement that a U.S. withdrawal would begin in 19 months. ``It just tells the Taliban and everyone else how long they need to last.''
The official said the deadline also could discourage Karzai from acting on U.S. demands to crack down on high-level corruption, implement political reforms and rid the government of warlords who oversaw the rigging of his recent reelection in return for shares in the new government.
``This is also a bold gamble in terms of domestic politics,'' said Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution, a former CIA and White House advisor official who helped Obama draft the initial Afghanistan strategy speech he delivered in March. ``His own party is increasingly divided. The liberal base is tired of it [the war]. The party is haunted by the ghost of Vietnam.''
In his televised address from West Point, Obama said the deadline would encourage Karzai to assume more responsibility for running his country and the war.
``Just as we have done in Iraq, we will execute this transition responsibly, taking into account conditions on the ground,'' said Obama. ``But it will be clear to the Afghan government -- and, more importantly, to the Afghan people -- that they will ultimately be responsible for their own country,'' Obama said.
Obama's reference to ``conditions on the ground'' suggested that the U.S. troop drawdown could be slowed or halted if the war continues to go badly or if Karzai fails to implement reforms and clean up his government.
At the same time, Obama acknowledged the growing costs of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq at a time of financial crisis and 10.3 percent unemployment.
``We simply cannot afford to ignore the price of these wars,'' he said.
``This approach makes perfect sense in the context of American politics, where compromise is the order of the day,'' said a senior U.S. intelligence official with long experience in the Middle East and South Asia, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he is critical of the president's policy. ``It makes a lot less sense in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where you either win or you lose, and whoever lasts longer usually wins.''
``Our enemies believe we'll always cut and run, like they say we did in Lebanon and Somalia, and by the same token, our allies don't trust us to stand with them for as long as it takes,'' said a senior U.S. military official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media.
News Source: miamiherald.com
Project Small Business
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