GM has announced a series of schemes which should help overall sales and also get rid of remaining Pontiac and Saturn products.  “In what is equivalent to a year-end fire sale, GM sent letters to dealers Dec. 23 saying it would pay them $7,000 for every new Saturn or Pontiac on their lot that is [...]

Here are some snippets from Dave Berry’s review of 2009: “…In Afghanistan, U.N. investigators raise questions about the recent national election, noting that a third of the votes cast for President Hamid Karzai came from Palm Beach County.  On the celebrity front, a remorseful David Letterman confesses to his stunned audience that he has been [...]

In our history there are many times that President’s attempt to create jobs with infrastructure projects.  President Obama is thinking that he may need to be the next to do so.  “As historian Mark Rose has noted, in the mid-1930s, almost $3 billion, then a good share of an annual federal budget, was poured into [...]

In a “in for a penny in for a pound” move, the large mortgage lender GMAC will receive another chunk of the taxpayer’s money.  This time, GMAC announced that it will receive an additional 3.5 billion dollars from the federal government.  This is in addition to the 12.5 billion the government has already given that [...]

Ford is selling Volvo to a Chinese company, Geely, and the terms of the sale are as yet unclear.  There may be sharing of Ford parts in exchange for Ford gaining better access to the China car market, for example.  “The sale of Volvo to a Chinese firm is a sensitive issue. China has now [...]

The talks with the tiny specialty automaker, Spyker, have failed – so there is no buyer for long time Swedish car maker Saab.  GM had previously announced plans to close the car company if it did not sell by the end of the year.  Although no one has mentioned it in the business press, Saabs [...]

According to one author, the sudden desire to re-pay TARP money is all about the money baby.  “In October, Feinberg issued compensation guidelines for the companies receiving special assistance, including Citi and Bank of America. That, and the approach of the bonus season, lit a fire under executives at the largest remaining TARP recipients. In [...]

Greetings!  I have just set up a cool link for “instant donations” for Giles, who as you may know is running for Attorney General for the state of Alabama.  He is a great brother-in-law and Uncle, often playing the role of host for English who is in her 2nd year at the University of Alabama (Roll [...]

There is a regular article on Slate.com magazine which answers more or less scientific questions.  It is called “the Explainer.”   At the end of every year, they list the questions which were submitted that they chose not to answer.  Then they ask readers to choose one which indeed will be answered at the first of [...]

One member of the European Union – Greece – is having large financial troubles.  “Greece was jolted on Tuesday by the downgrading of its debt rating to the lowest level in the euro zone as worries grow about its public finances, driving bank shares, bonds and the euro down in its wake.  The financial blow [...]