Senate Revives The Grand Plan

Wow, what a surprise! The $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan is back. Senate revamped the bill and hopes the House approves by Friday. Anyway, not much else to say. I knew it wasn't over and it might not be over anytime soon. If this one fails, they're just gonna try again, and then it becomes a continuous cycle until some sort of plan is put into effect officially.

GM To Relaunch A Social Website

According to an article I just read, GM plans to unveil a redesigned social media and networking site that will feature executive blogs, user-generated content, and social networking tools. The relaunch site is www.GMnext.com. This is the automaker's effort to connect with a younger audience. I visited the site and though it was quite nice. I don't remember ever visiting the site before so I can't really say if there is a big difference, or any at all, between the original architecture and the current one. The site has plenty of options, plenty of things to do and is very user friendly, which makes this a plus for GM.

$700 Billion Bailout Bombs

Well, finally, it's over. Or it is for now. The House didn't pass the ginormous deal even after Bush and congress urged the decision. Even before the bill was rejected, Wall Street was in bad shape, as stocks continued to fall. What's next on Bush's agenda? Well, I for one thinks that he is going to try again. He'll probably have his administration think up a smaller bill to help Wall Street, even if just slightly. I wonder how Mr. Paulson is doing? Haven't heard anything from him since the "terrible" decision. He's probably saying to himself "you know what, I'm going to stay quiet, because if I open my mouth, I'm going to lose it, and then, all after the fact, regret it...." Oooops, I was wrong. I'm watching him live right now. Ha, he looks EXTREMELY nervous. Hope he doesn't suffer an anxiety or heart attack. Funny thing is, today's my birthday. And today's also the day this long, dragged out thing (situation) finally came to an end.

Volt to be 100mpg?!

U.S. regulators hasn't clarified it yet but the Chevrolet Volt could possibly be marked off as the first 100-mile-per-gallon car. "It's a huge milestone to beat 100 mpg. It's bragging rights," said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst at Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Mass. I don't know why, but I though this was a past feat. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made it clear that testing guidelines hadn't been finalized as yet. So I guess if GM really manages to pull this off, the Volt would surely be their shining star. But when it actually hits mass production, it better be reasonably priced cause even with all that it's doing and all that it will be able to do, if it doesn't sell, GM will definitely slump.

NYU Professor Thinks It's Possible GM Will Have To Start From Scratch

Default expert Edward Altman said that "there is a 50 to 55% chance of GM default." I agree, as there are other large firms already on respirators. This could be a good thing for GM, though. They will be able to brainstorm new ideas and how to function in an era where we are now doing everything at once. Example, instead of choosing between preserving the environment and doing business at all cost, both are done simultaneously. Green marketing is now a major new concept, focused on products that are environmentally safe(r).

Proper Problem Solving

If you ask me, no one knows what to expect. It seems that all these officials don't even know what the (their) real problem is. And if this is truly the case, will anything get solved? I know what your thinking, a rhetorical question that has a formal answer(s). There hasn't been a final take on this $700 billion bailout and it has been floating around for some time now. With something this serious, this pressing, a decision should have been officially made (almost) as soon as the deviation arose. All that happened in Washington was nothing. No I'm wrong, what really happened was they all had friendly fun playing the "blame game." They were suppose to be working together to find a solution, but thier "game" ended in a stalemate. These apparently "smart" people obviously didn't learn a simple yet effective formula: what you (to) expect (after all, you must know what's expected, of you, your situation, your surroundings, and of others, etc), what actually happened, and if, any at all, there was a deviation, whether positive or negative.

Compressed Natural Gas

I recently read an article about yet another alternate fuel. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is one of many new "environmentally friendly" options to write out the use of our good old coal. I had no idea that there were so many different types of fuels available. There's, ofcourse, hybrids, clean-diesel engines, fuel-cell technology, ethanol (which actually sounds quite familiar) and more. So far, only one major CNG car is being offered to the consumer market, and it's the Honda Civic GX. CNG has been certified for Ford and GM, amoung others, so these corporation have the option of testing it out, to see just how "environmentally friendly" it really is.

Obama Is "Clearly" Ahead In New Poll

In a recent article I read, Democrat Barack Obama is ahead of John McCain by 9%. Since 2000, no Democratic candidate has had 50% or more support from pollers. Obama's percentage stood at 52%, while McCain's was 43%. Also, Obama is greatly favored over McCain, in terms of who the public thinks can better manage the U.S. economy (especially if something like what we are experiencing now occurs in the future). I agree totally that Obama is the better person overall, as he already exhibits managerial skills and performs managerial functions. Obama is already history, and hopefully, history will be Obama.

GM Gains Legislative Support

It's all been very gentlemanly so far. No name calling. No punches thrown. But a fight is brewing between heavyweights Toyota and General Motors over the way the government should support plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Robert Wimmer, a Toyota research manager, told a Senate committee last week that proposed legislation "redefines plug-in electric vehicles to seemingly eliminate consumer tax credits for all but one plug-in vehicle design. Toyota believes this approach is counterproductive." The GM hybrid would be the main beneficiary of the bill, which would provide tax credits of up to $7,500. A plug-in hybrid being developed by Toyota might not qualify for a tax credit. The bill, as written, bases the credit on a vehicle's range in the electric-only mode. The Toyota design is expected to rely, more than the Volt does, on an alternating combination of electric and gasoline engine power.

My Comment (Personal Input):
What? I don't understand. GM is going to get a extra seven grand and change for making the Volt run solely on electricity? And only they benefit....quite unethical, it seems.

The Currently Messy Market

Volatility again swept the financial markets Monday as investors grew nervous about an amorphous government plan to buy $700 billion in banks' mortgage debt. Stocks fell sharply, taking the Dow Jones industrials down more than 370 points, while investors sought safety in hard assets such as gold and oil, which at one point shot up more than $25 a barrel. The dollar skidded lower, contributing to oil's surge, while the credit markets were still uneasy but not showing the frantic trading they saw last week. Oil's rise of $16.37 to a closing price $120.92 a barrel came as investors snapped up supplies to cover a contract that expired at the end of Monday's session. Gold, also in demand as a safe haven, rose $40.90 to $905.60. While investors last week were relieved that federal authorities were constructing a plan to relieve the nation's banks of their toxic assets, many weren't waiting for the details to emerge before seeking safety.

My Comment (Personal Input):
Everyone's losing their minds. Investors already know that it's all about risk in the stock market. And yet, now that this is happening, they're afraid. They are acting like a bunch of babies new to this world.