In one of his final acts as president, George W. Bush decided to prevent the U.S. auto industry from falling into a deep hole, one out of which it probably would not emerge.

Under the plan, General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and Chrysler L.L.C. will receive $17.4 billon in short-term loans from the bailout money approved for Wall Street. The U.S. Congress failed to pass a rescue package for Detroit last week because some Republicans believed that the companies should be forced into bankruptcy.

That option was unacceptable to a free market conservative like Bush. "Chapter 11 is unlikely to work for American automakers at this time," Bush said in a televised press conference. A bankruptcy could "send the economy into a deeper and longer recession."

Bankruptcy is still on the table. The $17.4 billion lifeline will gas up the former Big 3 until March. Then the companies need to present a plan to the government on how they can become viable. Both the UAW and suppliers will continue to feel the pain. Odds are fairly good that Detroit will come back to the next Congress for even more money in the coming months.

All of the money in the world will not help Detroit if the Big 3 don't produce cars people like.

Bush approves $17.4 billion lifeline to automakers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stocks in the news: GM, F, RIMM, GS, BAC, C, ORCL, XOM, SIRI, PALM ...

Filed under: Earnings reports, Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Deals, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Citigroup Inc. (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Chevron Corp (CVX), Research in Motion (RIMM), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Oracle Corp (ORCL), BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), Palm Inc (PALM), Wells Fargo (WFC)

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and Chrysler will be in focus today as the Bush administration, convinced the economy could not withstand the demise of Detroit's Big Three, is looking at "orderly" bankruptcy to keep them from collapsing. The decision, they say, on helping the auto industry could come as early as Friday. GM shares are up 14%, Ford's up 8% in premarket trading (8:06 am).

Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) reported third-quarter earnings in line with estimates, but surprised investors with a better-than-expected forecast for the current quarter due to strong demand for the new BlackBerry devices. Despite that, RIMM shares are trading about 1% lower in premarket.

Japanese electronic company Panasonic said it would acquire its rival Sanyo for up to $9 billion. The deal will be done through a public tender offer after top shareholders, including Goldman Sachs, agreed to the takeover.

Standard & Poor's lowered the credit ratings and outlooks for 12 major U.S. and European banks Friday, including Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC). S&P said the causes for the downgrades are increased industry risk and a deepening economic slowdown.

Continue reading Stocks in the news: GM, F, RIMM, GS, BAC, C, ORCL, XOM, SIRI, PALM ...

Stocks in the news: GM, F, RIMM, GS, BAC, C, ORCL, XOM, SIRI, PALM ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 08:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best 10 stocks for 2009, Once in a lifetime refinancing opportunity, beware Wal-Marts discount trap - Today in Money 12/18

Filed under: Dell (DELL), Pfizer (PFE),