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• U.S. Auto Industry Desperate For Government Bailout - 31 October 2008

Further to Wednesday’s article (see "General Motors Seeks Government Aid For Merger With Chrysler"), a Bush administration official revealed late Thursday that the Treasury is not negotiating with automakers on any bailout deal. No reason was given for the decision, but the general consensus among people in the know, is that the Treasury is unwilling to pump large sums of taxpayers money into assisting a merger which would undoubtedly result in the loss of thousands of taxpayer’s jobs, with some estimating the potential job loss figure across the automotive industry to be as high as 90,000.

• Stock Market Volatility And Trading Volumes Indicate Investors Are Still Trading - 30 October 2008

Tuesday saw Wall Street enjoying its second-best advance ever, but Wednesday presented a mixed bag of major stock indexes. While many have been referring to the stock market at seesawing, at times the drastic losses and gains are more like a bungee jump - and just as gut-wrenching for investors. So what are investors to make of the ongoing extreme volatility of the market? There are varying opinions among experts, but if looking for the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, investors may want to bear in mind that this is not the first time that the market has been extremely volatile and, based on historic trends, a number of analysts believe that more stable times are not too far ahead.

• General Motors Seeks Government Aid For Merger With Chrysler - 29 October 2008

U.S. vehicle manufacturing giants, General Motors and Chrysler (owned by Cerberus Capital Management), have appealed to the U.S. government for $10 billion to facilitate a merger of the two companies. The proposed package would include the U.S. government buying $3 billion worth of preferred stock in the merged company, meaning that the U.S. taxpayer would have a direct stake in the GM-Chrysler merger. Moreover, the merging companies have asked the government to take over $3 billion in pension liabilities as well as buying GM short-terms notes to strengthen the company’s liquidity. Should the merger go through, the combined company would control roughly one-third of the auto market in the United States.

• Hedge Funds Take Strain In Volatile Market - 28 October 2008

A report by the Bank of England on Tuesday noted that bank credit risks have been reduced and money market pressures have eased off following the recent financial sector bailouts across the United States and Europe. However, the report added that risks in the broader financial system remain, with hedge funds being particularly vulnerable in the current global financial crisis. An increase in redemption requests has put hedge funds under additional funding pressures, resulting in the third quarter of 2008 being one of the worst recorded by hedge funds.

• Pension Plans/Retirement Funds Hard Hit By Economic Crisis - 27 October 2008

While world leaders gather in a series of meetings to discuss strategies to deal with the current global economic crisis, as well as looking into co-operative measures of preventing a repeat performance in the future, ordinary citizens are often baffled by what is going on. Many who regularly pay into retirement funds believe they are acting in a responsible manner by making provision for their later years, but have never given much thought as to how the money is invested. So, the all to frequent news headlines announcing that millions, billions and even trillions of dollars relating to retirement funds/pension plans have been “wiped out” or have “disappeared” are a major cause for concern.

• Markets Remain Volatile as World Leaders Seek Solutions to Global Financial Crisis - 24 October 2008

Many investors, brokers, analysts and others who make a living from the U.S. stock markets have all but given up trying to understand why markets are remaining as volatile as they are and have resigned themselves to expect the unexpected as each new trading day dawns. While the reasons behind the current global financial crisis are no doubt many and varied, it would seem that fear is one of the key factors behind the ups-and-downs of the market, and the problem with fear is that it is by nature irrational.

• Corporate Results Drag Market Down, World Financial Crisis Summit May Restore Hope - 23 October 2008

While U.S. credit markets seem to be loosening up a little, investors have no respite from anxiety as the trickle of third quarter corporate results currently being released seems to be turning into a torrent of bad news. Fears of the country entering into a deep recession cannot be put to rest, especially in light of the fact that many corporate companies are trimming their fourth quarter earnings forecasts, indicating expectations of a bumpy road ahead. All major U.S. indexes dropped by more than 4 percent on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average ending the trading day with a loss of 514 points, or 5.69 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped by 6.10 percent and the Nasdaq composite index fell by 4.77 percent.

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