The Good News Just Keeps Coming

8 Random Items for 11/19/2008 #7

• Consumer prices fell by a record 1% in October. Is deflation coming?


• Record lows were recorded for housing starts and permits. CNN Money described this as a "plummet".


• Secretary Paulson has no intention of spending any of the $700 bailout money to help homeowners and ease the foreclosure rate. In fact, the Bush administration intends to stand pat with the distributions that have already taken place.
  


• Republicans intend to block any chance of a bailout of the US auto industry. This could lead to the lost of almost three million jobs across the country. This would be the collapse that would take us from recession to depression. Shelby's idea to replace senior management is not without merit, but his belief that they should go through some form of Chapter 11 would be a disaster. The auto industry has no resemblance to the airline industry. A bankrupt GM is a dead GM. We also need to consider busting these companies up into smaller companies. Let's put the ideas on the table, but do not let these companies go under. We can't afford it.