Unemployment in the United States increased again last month to 9.1 percent, with the Obama economy adding only 54,000 jobs—the fewest in eight months. Today’s terrible jobs report is much worse than expected. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had grimly predicted 160,000 new jobs and an unemployment rate of 8.9 percent earlier this week. But despite the dismal news that 13.9 million Americans remain unemployed, President Barack Obama is holding a victory party today at a Chrysler plant in Toledo, Ohio, trumpeting the only jobs he can manage to create—those …
Have an idea but strapped for cash? Not sure if the idea is going to pan out? That’s all right, just ask the government for a few billion dollars. That’s what the automakers did. USA Today reports: If you believed all the talk from Chrysler about how our tax dollars would help finance its fast-track electric-vehicle future, you’re in for a big disappointment. Chrysler has disbanded the engineering team that was trying to bring three electric models to market as a rush job, Automotive News reports today. Chrysler cited its …
Chrysler is declaring bankruptcy. The step that was once declared “off the table” is now a reality. And that’s good news. The bankruptcy process provides the long-troubled automaker with the means necessary to reduce restructure itself into a viable enterprise. It’s also good news that Chrysler will have private-sector help in this task, in the form of an alliance with Fiat, which is expected to not only provide technological aid for Chrysler, but take a leading operational role – up to and including selection of a new CEO. The move …
Will the United States government fund Italy’s Fiat’s attempt to own a majority stake in Chrysler? While most people were following other news on Tuesday, Chrysler and Fiat quietly agreed to a deal that would give Fiat a 35% stake in the Chrysler. For this, Fiat would provide Chrysler with technology and vehicles to sell in the U.S. But there’s a condition: “[T]he deal becomes binding only if Chrysler gets $3 billion more in financial help from Washington, said the people familiar with the terms of the agreement. Chrysler nearly …
