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• General Motors Seeks Government Aid For Merger With Chrysler - Editor, 29 October 2008 - No Comments yet

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.

• Markets Remain Volatile as World Leaders Seek Solutions to Global Financial Crisis - Editor, 24 October 2008 - No Comments yet

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.

• Talk of Additional Stimulus Package to Aid U.S. Economy Recovery Boosts Markets - Editor, 21 October 2008 - No Comments yet

U.S. stocks rallied on Monday morning as investors responded to signs that the credit market is improving. Remarks by Federal Reserve chief, Ben Bernanke, that Congress should look into passing an additional stimulus package to speed up recovery of the economy also served to lift the mood at U.S. stock exchanges. The early morning rally continued through the day with the Dow finishing at 9265 points, being 413 points, or 4.7 percent higher. Although encouraged by this result, the ongoing volatility of the market has taught stock market players not to get too excited when the market rallies as it did on Monday.

• Disappointing Commerce Department and Federal Reserve Reports Have Negative Impact On Markets - Editor, 16 October 2008 - No Comments yet

Wednesday’s performance on U.S. stock markets, and global markets for that matter, is likely to have squashed any feelings of optimism that Monday’s market rally may have brought about. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 7.9 percent to close at 8,577, while the Nasdaq composite index lost 8.5 percent, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 9 percent. This tale of woe was echoed throughout the world, with London and Paris markets dropping around 7 percent, the German DAX falling 6.49 percent, and Asian and Pacific stock markets all recording losses.

• E.U. Agrees on Financial Crisis Plan of Action – Investors Advised Not to Panic-Sell - Editor, 13 October 2008 - No Comments yet

While many investors and analysts agree that it is unlikely that the level of anxiety being experienced by global stock markets will decrease in the upcoming week, there are those who believe there is room for a bit of optimism, based on steps being taken by governments and central banks in the United States and across the Atlantic to assist the financial sector. Also, with many being of the opinion that the market in the U.S. will soon bottom out, bargain hunters may start buying, which would give stocks a much needed boost.

• Markets Remain Edgy on Both Sides of the Atlantic - Editor, 8 October 2008 - No Comments yet

Despite assurances from the U.S. Federal Reserve that measures are to be implemented immediately to make funds available to financial institutions, the U.S. stock markets took a battering for the second day in a row on Tuesday. The general outlook seems to be that whatever measures are taken at this stage, it may be “too little, too late”. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 508 points, or 5.1 percent, to close at its lowest point since the end of September 2003, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 5.7 percent and the Nasdaq composite dropped 5.8 percent, to their lowest points since August 2003.

• France to Host European Financial Summit - Editor, 3 October 2008 - No Comments yet

President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, is set to host a European financial summit in Paris this coming weekend in an effort to agree to a united European Union response to the financial crisis the U.S. is currently experiencing, which is impacting on global markets. The summit will be attended by financial leaders of France, Italy, Germany and Britain, as well as European Central Bank Governor Jean-Claude Trichet, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker.

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