MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'general motors'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:54:37 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828859&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FO3uaghfl2zE%2F By George Scoville It is false to assume that GM’s earnings report means the auto bailout was a success. It is false that, among other things, failing to raise the debt limit means defaulting on our obligations. It is false that Osama bin Laden’s death means torture is a good idea. It is false that international institutions can deliver what they say they can deliver. It is false that oil speculators are to blame for fluctuating oil prices: Monday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828859 Mon, 16 May 2011 14:01:40 +0100 4828859 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4820818&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1WL3c37JQT8%2F By Daniel IkensonMedia are reporting this morning that the Treasury has decided to hold off on selling any of its remaining 500 million shares of General Motors stock until at least July. The Obama administration had hoped to divest as soon as possible  after May 22, but GM’s stock price hasn’t been cooperating. As much as the president doesn’t want the odor of nationalization following him on the campaign trail, the administration is equally concerned about having to explain why it took a $10 billion to $20 billion direct loss by divesting when it did. By deferring sales until July, the administration presumably is hoping for a stock price boost from second quarter earnings. But that is unlikely for several reasons, which I explained in the Daily Caller yesterday. Here’s the gi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4820818 Fri, 13 May 2011 15:10:42 +0100 4820818 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4183281&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPGBb9vLnnD4%2F By Daniel IkensonI don’t particularly relish picking on a president who, on virtually every policy front, is showing all the markings of a man in way over his head.  But the president’s actions and statements are becoming excruciating to watch—like a highly-touted Olympic figure skater who can’t complete a maneuver without falling to the ice.  President Obama’s salutary statement about GM’s IPO yesterday reveals a man so focused on defending his policies that he can no longer conceal the incongruity between his political objectives and the country’s imperatives. American taxpayers are now positioned to recover more than my administration invested in GM, and that’s a good thing. (My emphasis) Besides revealing the president’s preference for LIFO accounting procedure... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4183281 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:44:32 +0100 4183281 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4179303&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYxlU1guvzQA%2F By Daniel IkensonThere seems to be a lot of confusion about the meaning of GM’s IPO today.  A common narrative in today’s media is that GM’s return to the stock market affirms the wisdom of the auto bailout.  Some tougher customers in the media insist on a higher threshold being met—that taxpayers get back the entirety of their $50 billion investment in GM—before declaring “mission accomplished.” And then there are the rabid partisans who—in their seething animosity toward the Obama administration—reach conclusions devoid of logic and rich only in conspiratorial-mindedness.  For example, yesterday I was contacted by a media outlet vetting this conclusion: “The IPO is evidence of the failure of the bailout because taxpayers were excluded from buyin... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4179303 Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:59:37 +0100 4179303 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3872543&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLPUHhJP7srs%2F By David BoazNPR’s 9:00 a.m. newscast this morning included this accidentally accurate line: Government, rather General Motors is expected to announce plans for an initial public offering of stock this week. The comment can be heard here at about 3:10, but I assume the online hourly report is updated throughout the day. For more on Government Motors, click here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3872543 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:49:41 +0100 3872543 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3784244&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1UPfeJEsVqQ%2F By Daniel IkensonVia General Motors, American taxpayers will soon own a 61 percent stake in a Texas-based company called AmeriCredit.  GM announced plans yesterday to acquire the auto finance firm for $3.5 billion, which management believes will help boost its auto sales and improve chances for an IPO later this year or next.  Thus, a greater chance for re-privatization later is the rationalization for more nationalization now. For those who opposed the nationalization of GM for its affront to free markets and the rule of law in the first place, the acquisition presents a dilemma.  On one hand, the deal means that the nationalization virus is spreading to infect another company in a different industry, ensuring that yet more business decisions are driven by political, rather than econo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3784244 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:57:26 +0100 3784244 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3621955&cid=t_215883_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FYvmA7EYHPDU%2F Since 2001, Ken Cole worked in Washington, DC, where he was global public policy and government relations for General Motors. He helped the automaker win a bailout from the Obama administration last year and was subsequently involved in talks with the White House on still more federal aid. Athough Ed Whitacre signaled his intent to reorganize (see this), Cole was recognized in some circles for helping to successfully portray GM as a sympathetic entity deserving federal assistance. What can he do for Pfizer? A bailout is unlikely, but there are always a gazillion issues of importance, from prying open market access to other nations to winning greater coverage in government plans for the sorts of drug that it sells. And it would appear he has some idea of how to pitch and package a company t... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3621955 Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:24:11 +0100 3621955 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538075&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZqxmoUScElE%2F By Walter OlsonI’m usually in enthusiastic accord with our friends over at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, but it seems to me they’ve made a mistake by petitioning the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to crack down on GM’s ridiculous “we repaid our federal loan” ad. Some zealous enforcers would love for the FTC to do more to regulate speech by American business on matters of public concern, and it seems to me the last thing we should do is encourage such a trend. For those who came in late, General Motors and its CEO Ed Whitmire were widely and rightly assailed here and elsewhere for asserting (in a column whose message was repeated in much-played TV ads) that the company had repaid its bailout loan “in full, with interest, years ahead of schedule.&#... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538075 Wed, 05 May 2010 19:11:47 +0100 3538075 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3502794&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAlzMmwO_XM0%2F By David BoazGeneral Motors chairman Ed Whitacre is appearing in ads on all the Sunday morning shows repeating the message of his Wall Street Journal op-ed, titled “The GM Bailout: Paid Back in Full,” and the company’s full-page newspaper ads: We’re proud to announce: We’ve repaid our government loan. In full. With interest. Five years ahead of the original schedule. But wait: In the Wall Street Journal, Whitacre says the company has made a $5.8 billion payment to the governments of the United States and Canada. But don’t I recall that the GM bailout was $50 billion? Shikha Dalmia of the Reason Foundation explains the whole story in Forbes: First, part of the bailout went into an “escrow fund,” and that government money is being used to pay... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3502794 Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:18:51 +0100 3502794 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3239549&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fldxi6CbO7l8%2F By Daniel IkensonIn response to the large recalls affecting several Toyota models, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood yesterday advised Americans to “stop driving” their Toyotas. In testimony before the House Appropriations subcommittee on transportation, LaHood said: “My advice to anyone who owns one of these vehicles is stop driving it, and take it to the Toyota dealership because they believe they have the fix for it.” Later in the day, he elaborated: “I want to encourage owners of any recalled Toyota models to contact their local dealer and get their vehicles fixed as soon as possible. NHTSA will continue to hold Toyota’s feet to the fire to make sure that they are doing everything they have promised to make their vehicles safe. We will continue to ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3239549 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:07:31 +0100 3239549 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3149034&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtVv87lxdqr0%2F By Daniel GriswoldThree items in the news this week remind us why we should be glad we live in a more global economy. While American consumers remain cautious, American companies and workers are finding increasing opportunities in markets abroad: Sales of General Motors vehicles continue to slump in the United States, but they are surging in China. The company announced this week that sales in China of GM-branded cars and trucks were up 67 percent in 2009, to 1.8 million vehicles. If current trends continue, within a year or two GM will be selling more vehicles in China than in the United States. James Cameron’s 3-D movie spectacular “Avatar” just surpassed $1 billion in global box-office sales. Two-thirds of its revenue has come from abroad, with France, Germany, and Russia the lea... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3149034 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:02:52 +0100 3149034 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3056617&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FP1wbE-cyLCA%2F That is one of the conclusions in my new paper, “Made on Earth: How Global Economic Integration Renders Trade Policy Obsolete.” For hundreds of years, trade policy has been premised on the assumptions that exports are good, imports are bad, and the interests of domestic producers are tantamount to the “national interest.” Though that mercantilist worldview has never been accurate, its persistence as a pillar of trade policy into the 21st century is especially confounding given the emergence and proliferation of disaggregated production processes, transnational supply chains, and cross-border investment. Those trends have blurred any meaningful distinctions between “our” producers and “their” producers and speak to a long chain of interdepende... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3056617 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:57:28 +0100 3056617 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2823967&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFuQ414OVrvQ%2F “Americans are more likely today than in the recent past to believe that government is taking on too much responsibility for solving the nation’s problems and is over-regulating business,” according to a new Gallup Poll. New Gallup data show that 57% of Americans say the government is trying to do too many things that should be left to businesses and individuals, and 45% say there is too much government regulation of business. Both reflect the highest such readings in more than a decade. Byron York of the Examiner notes: The last time the number of people who believe government is doing too much hit 57 percent was in October 1994, shortly before voters threw Democrats out of power in both the House and Senate. It continued to rise after that, hitting 60 percent in Decembe... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2823967 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:18:43 +0100 2823967 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2778393&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6j5nOdypIY8%2F Reports the Washington Post: The federal government is unlikely to recoup all of the billions of dollars that it has invested in General Motors and Chrysler, according to a new congressional oversight report assessing the automakers’ rescue. The report said that a $5.4 billion portion of the $10.5 billion owed by Chrysler is “highly unlikely” to be repaid, while full recovery of the $50 billion sunk into GM would require the company’s stock to reach unprecedented heights. “Although taxpayers may recover some portion of their investment in Chrysler and GM, it is unlikely they will recover the entire amount,” according to the report, which is scheduled to be released Wednesday. Well, it’s only money.  And with the taxpayers facing more than $100 tri... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2778393 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:45:03 +0100 2778393 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2630047&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIBK96jTDjOc%2F The First Amendment guarantees our freedom to petition the government, which is one of the reasons why the statists who wants to restrict or even ban lobbying hopefully will not succeed. But that does not mean all lobbying is created equal. If a bunch of small business owners get together to lobby against higher taxes, that is a noble endeavor. If the same group of people get together and lobby for special handouts, by contrast, they are being despicable. And if they get a bailout from the government and use that money to mooch for more handouts, they deserve a reserved seat in a very hot place. This is not just a hypothetical exercise. The Hill reports on the combined $20 million lobbying budget of some of the companies that stuck their snouts in the public trough: Auto companies and eigh... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2630047 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:37:15 +0100 2630047 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2605947&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcgC1HzVkYvo%2F The logic in Washington is ineluctable.  If government provides money, then it needs to impose regulations.  If the government takes ownership, then it must provide management. Bail out the banks.  Set bankers’ salaries.  Bail out the insurers.  Decide on corporate bonuses. And if the government takes over the automakers, then it should run the automakers.  That, of course, means deciding who can be dealers.  Reports the Washington Post: Now that the Obama administration has spent billions of dollars on the bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler, Congress is considering making its first major management decision at the automakers. Under legislation that has rapidly gained support, GM and Chrysler would have to reinstate more than 2,000 dealerships that the companies had sl... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2605947 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:03:27 +0100 2605947 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2588180&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1T4tUy8qlJY%2F Time and again my colleagues and I have warned that the government’s takeover of GM would divorce business decisions from economics and wed them to politics ‘til death do they part. But I won’t gloat. Better to be right and satisfied that government is reasonably restrained than right and house hunting in Galt’s Gulch. We’ve already seen the president insist on the firing of a CEO, design and negotiate a bankruptcy plan devoid of much economic merit, impose preferences about which models to produce, and assure the diabolical, undeserving management of the UAW that GM won’t import small cars from its foreign plants to make space for its U.S.-produced budget-busting green vessels. Now Congress is attempting to legislate its way into the boardroom. Last month, GM/Obama announced p... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2588180 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:14:27 +0100 2588180 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2556078&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0v7Ww26fJhU%2F As my colleague Doug Bandow pointed out this morning, today’s Washington Post has an analysis about the uncertain prospects of GM ever making taxpayers whole again. It is a very similar analysis to the one I gave in this L.A. Times Dust-Up installment four weeks ago, although I find prospects unlikely, rather than just uncertain. If GM emerges from bankruptcy next month in accordance with the pre-packaged Obama plan (as expected), taxpayers will be on the hook for $50 billion. That $50 billion will buy taxpayers a 60 percent stake in the company, which according to the laws of mathematics means that GM has to be worth $83.33 billion for the taxpayers to get their equity back without making a dime in capital gains or interest.  In the L.A. Times, I asked: How and when will that ever ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2556078 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:32:42 +0100 2556078 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2556080&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_CfMW0ZjU_I%2F The president and his appointees have expressed their hope that Government Motors will eventually pay back taxpayers for their “forced investment” in the company.  But there aren’t many cases of this sort of lemon socialism actually paying off. Now most everyone connected with GM is admitting the same thing.  Reports the Washington Post: If a new General Motors emerges from bankruptcy as planned, U.S. financial aid for the company will expand to nearly $50 billion, but neither the government nor the company is forecasting how much of the public money will be repaid. It’s sure to be a stretch. For the United States to fully recover its investment, the value of General Motors stock will have to reach levels it has never before attained. “I’m not going... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2556080 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:56:41 +0100 2556080 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2477535&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYn8JdhViL8Y%2F It has been a good run, but it appears government might finally bring America’s love affair with the car to an untimely end, says Cato Mencken Research Fellow P.J. O’Rourke. The author of the new book Driving Like Crazy, spoke at Cato last week about classic cars, government regulation, the takeover of GM and the forthcoming “Obamamobile.” (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2477535 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:59:53 +0100 2477535 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2458040&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUEOvs9puy04%2F Obama Speaks to the Muslim World In Cairo on Thursday, President Obama asked for a “new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world,” and spoke at some length on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Cato scholar Christopher Preble comments, “At times, it sounded like a state of the union address, with a litany of promises intended to appeal to particular interest groups. …That said, I thought the president hit the essential points without overpromising.” Preble goes on to say: He did not ignore that which divides the United States from the world at large, and many Muslims in particular, nor was he afraid to address squarely the lies and distortions — including the implication that 9/11 never happened, or was not... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2458040 Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:44:16 +0100 2458040 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2452389&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFJQ8Fkf3NDQ%2F GM’s restructuring under Chapter 11 includes plans to sell off the Hummer, Saab, and Saturn brands. Well, just one day after GM’s bankruptcy filing, a Chinese firm has come forward with a $500 million offer to purchase Hummer. The prospective buyer is Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co Ltd, a manufacturing company in western China, which hopes to become an automaker. Not only is the Hummer offer the first bid for a GM asset in bankruptcy, but the bidder is foreign. Not only is the bidder foreign, but Chinese. And not only is the bidder Chinese, but the Hummer was first developed by the U.S. military. Thus, this is certain to be characterized as a national security matter, and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) will have to review the proposal.... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2452389 Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:23:14 +0100 2452389 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2452395&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtVm3JjDxU_U%2F David Brooks comes in for his share of criticism in these parts, but he has a very astute column today about the ways that government ownership will worsen an already problematic corporate culture at a once-great company: Fifth, G.M.’s executives and unions now have an incentive to see Washington as a prime revenue center. Already, the union has successfully lobbied to move production centers back from overseas. Already, the company has successfully sought to restrict the import of cars that might compete with G.M. brands. In the years ahead, G.M.’s management will have a strong incentive to spend time in Washington, urging the company’s owner, the federal government, to issue laws to help it against Ford and Honda. Sixth, the new plan will create an ever-thickening set of relationsh... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2452395 Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:35:01 +0100 2452395 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2447456&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FjWdgEibyRF8%2F It’s not as if we didn’t know this was going to happen to GM for a long time now. GM’s bankruptcy announcement today is perhaps the least shocking news we’ve heard about the company in more than seven months. It might well be remembered as the company’s last act of capitalism. If GM emerges from bankruptcy organized and governed by the plan created by the Obama administration, it is impossible to see how free markets will have anything to do with the U.S. auto industry. With taxpayers on the hook for $50 billion (at a minimum), the administration will do whatever it has to — including tilting the playing field with policies that induce consumers to buy GM or hamstring GM’s competition or subsidize its costs — in order for GM to succeed. Thus, what’s going to happe... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2447456 Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:24:19 +0100 2447456 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2442305&cid=t_215883_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FzPvv_PX3AKM%2F Supporters and opponents of GMO have been clamoring from a support from the Vatican, for the obvious reasons of elevating GMO into a moral issue. Well, a study from the Vatican strongly endorses genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as providing “better food security” and safe and healthy foods, reports the National Catholic Reporter this week. Although the Vatican itself has not issued an official statement, the Pontifical Academy for Science met this week to discuss the merits of GMO and participants unanimously agreed to endorse GMOs. Unfortunately, no Catholic critic of GMOs was invited to the conference so the endorsement has been viewed as totally biased. In a related news, Boulder County Colorado farmers may now plant genetically modified sugar beets on government land, acco... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2442305 Fri, 29 May 2009 11:48:00 +0100 2442305 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2414744&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOLJvSspHGGA%2F Bloomberg reports: General Motors Corp., facing a probable bankruptcy filing by June 1, is telling 1,100 “underperforming” U.S. dealers they will be terminated as the automaker starts shrinking its retail network. Most of the closings will occur by October 2010, and none are happening now, Detroit-based GM said today. The targeted outlets will have until the end of the month to appeal the decisions, GM said, without specifying the stores on the list. The shutdowns are the biggest U.S. automaker’s first step toward paring domestic dealers to a range of 3,600 to 4,000 from 5,969 by the end of 2010. To be sure, it is a very sad day for thousands of workers and businesses around the country.  But we’re in the midst of a deep recession, which may be nowhere deeper than in the auto ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2414744 Fri, 15 May 2009 21:08:20 +0100 2414744 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306729&cid=t_215883_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F24LVmhFGt18%2F G-20 Summit Agrees to International Spending Plan The Washington Post reports, “Leaders from more than 20 major nations including the United States decided Thursday to make available an additional $1 trillion for the world economy through the International Monetary Fund and other institutions as part of a broad package of measures to overcome the global financial crisis.” Cato scholars Richard W. Rahn, Daniel J. Ikenson and Ian Vásquez commented on the London-based meeting: Rahn: “President Obama of the U.S. and Prime Minister Brown of the U.K. will be pressing for more so-called stimulus spending by other nations, despite the fact that the historical evidence shows that big increases in government spending are more likely to be damaging and slow down recovery than they ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306729 Fri, 03 Apr 2009 21:32:27 +0100 2306729