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WASHINGTON POST: The government's $1 billion "cash for clunkers" program, designed to boost stagnant auto sales, is almost out of money, putting its future in question, government officials said Thursday . . . READ MORE
ASSOCIATED PRESS: The Transportation Department called congressional offices late Thursday to alert them to the decision to halt the program, which offered owners of old cars and trucks $3,500 or $4,500 toward a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle . . . READ MORE
POLITICO: The program . . . was supposed to expire at the end of October. But in the one week since it took effect, it appears to have run dry of the $1 billion allocated to it . . . READ MORE
BLOG REACTION: MICHELLE MALKIN, HOT AIR, INSTAPUNDIT, DON SURBER, THE OTHER McCAIN, RIGHT WING NEWS, MEMEORANDUM
COMMENTARY/CATO INSTITUTE
CHRIS MOODY: In June, Cato senior fellow Alan Reynolds explained how you can use that money to buy the muscle car or truck you always wanted: "Consider how easy it would be to game this giveaway program by using that $4,500 voucher to buy a big SUV or V-8 muscle car" . . . READ MORE
COMMENTARY/AMERICAN ISSUES PROJECT
JIMMIE BISE: We know that the bureaucrats in Washington are absolutely horrible at predicting what actual human beings will do in a given situation, but rarely do we get to see their failure as clearly as we can now . . . READ MORE
Thursday, July 30, 2009
IRANIAN SECURITY CONTINUES
CRACKDOWN AT MEMORIAL SERVICE
WASHINGTON TIMES: Iranian police used tear gas and beatings to break up a graveside memorial attended by thousands in Tehran. The rally was held at the Behesht-e Zahra cemetary where Neda Agha Soltan, killed while watching a protest march on June 20th, was buried. According to witnesses, the situation reached a critical mass as an ally of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi attempted to give a speech. Mousavi himself was prevented from attending by a crowd of police who surrounded him as he arrived. Some in the crowd chanted "Neda is alive, Ahmadinejad is dead" and some plainclothes security officers reportedly chanted "Death to those who are against the supreme leader" in return. . . .READ MORE
A.M. MARKET UPDATE 07.30.09:
WALL STREET WATCHES CHINA
ASIAN MARKETS BOUNCE BACK
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Asian markets rebounded Thursday as China tried to allay concerns it would curb lending that's helped fuel a recovery in the region's second-biggest economy. European markets were mixed. Japanese shares, meanwhile, closed at their highest level in almost 10 months as major carmakers like Nissan Motor and Honda Motor jumped on stronger-than-expected earnings . . . READ MORE
BEIJING MAY REIGN IN STOCKS
BLOOMBERG: China’s government may take action to slow the world's second-best-performing stock market because of concern prices rose too fast, Robeco Hong Kong Ltd.'s Arnout van Rijn said. . . . "The Chinese authorities are actually not very happy with the stock market moving up as quickly as that," van Rijn, chief investment officer of Robeco Hong Kong Ltd., told Bloomberg Television. "They will think about things, how to put this into a broader perspective and take things more slowly" . . . READ MORE
CREDIT TIGHTENS IN CHINA
BLOOMBERG: China’s overnight money-market rate rose for the first time in more than a week on speculation the availability of credit is tightening as companies recommence share offerings and because of a surge in bank lending . . . READ MORE
U.S. BUSINESS NEWS
SENATE PROBES GOLDMAN
REUTERS: Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Deutsche Bank AG were issued subpoenas by a U.S. Senate panel looking for evidence of fraud in the 2008 mortgage-market meltdown, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. . . . Washington Mutual Inc, which is now mostly owned by JP Morgan Chase & Co, was also issued a subpoena by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations . . . READ MORE
TODAY'S $28 BILLION TREASURY
AUCTION HAS MARKET 'NERVOUS'
BLOOMBERG: Treasuries fell Wednesday on speculation demand is waning for the $115 billion of debt the U.S. government is selling this week to finance a growing budget deficit. Longer-maturity bonds led declines before a $28 billion sale of seven-year notes today, the last of the government's four auctions this week. "The market is nervous," said Hideo Shimomura, chief fund investor in Tokyo at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. "A lot of people are thinking about how much demand there will be from central banks at the auction" . . . READ MORE
UNEMPLOYMENT PUSHING MORE
HOMEOWNERS TO FORECLOSURE
REUTERS: Cities in the U.S. Sun Belt states of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona dominated the record foreclosure spree in the first half of the year, but distress in other regions emerged as joblessness spread, RealtyTrac said on Thursday . . . With the unemployment rate near a 26-year high and many employers cutting wages, more consumers in areas that were initially spared in the foreclosure explosion are now behind in their home loan payments . . . READ MORE
F.D.I.C. TO BREAK UP BAD BANKS
WALL STREET JOURNAL: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., grappling with the worst banking crisis since the 1990s, is poised to start breaking failed financial institutions into good and bad pieces in an effort to drum up more interest from prospective buyers . . . READ MORE
MICROSOFT, YAHOO JOIN
FORCES AGAINST GOOGLE
USA TODAY: Yahoo's 10-year deal with Microsoft to battle Google for online search customers and ad sales is the boldest initiative Carol Bartz has made since she became Yahoo's CEO in January. But . . . even her vow that the alliance would deliver "boatloads of value for Yahoo" left many investors stony faced . . . Yahoo shares fell 12% on Wednesday to $15.14 as Microsoft shares rose 1%, to $23.80 . . . READ MORE
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Asian markets rebounded Thursday as China tried to allay concerns it would curb lending that's helped fuel a recovery in the region's second-biggest economy. European markets were mixed. Japanese shares, meanwhile, closed at their highest level in almost 10 months as major carmakers like Nissan Motor and Honda Motor jumped on stronger-than-expected earnings . . . READ MORE
BEIJING MAY REIGN IN STOCKS
BLOOMBERG: China’s government may take action to slow the world's second-best-performing stock market because of concern prices rose too fast, Robeco Hong Kong Ltd.'s Arnout van Rijn said. . . . "The Chinese authorities are actually not very happy with the stock market moving up as quickly as that," van Rijn, chief investment officer of Robeco Hong Kong Ltd., told Bloomberg Television. "They will think about things, how to put this into a broader perspective and take things more slowly" . . . READ MORE
CREDIT TIGHTENS IN CHINA
BLOOMBERG: China’s overnight money-market rate rose for the first time in more than a week on speculation the availability of credit is tightening as companies recommence share offerings and because of a surge in bank lending . . . READ MORE
U.S. BUSINESS NEWS
SENATE PROBES GOLDMAN
REUTERS: Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Deutsche Bank AG were issued subpoenas by a U.S. Senate panel looking for evidence of fraud in the 2008 mortgage-market meltdown, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. . . . Washington Mutual Inc, which is now mostly owned by JP Morgan Chase & Co, was also issued a subpoena by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations . . . READ MORE
TODAY'S $28 BILLION TREASURY
AUCTION HAS MARKET 'NERVOUS'
BLOOMBERG: Treasuries fell Wednesday on speculation demand is waning for the $115 billion of debt the U.S. government is selling this week to finance a growing budget deficit. Longer-maturity bonds led declines before a $28 billion sale of seven-year notes today, the last of the government's four auctions this week. "The market is nervous," said Hideo Shimomura, chief fund investor in Tokyo at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. "A lot of people are thinking about how much demand there will be from central banks at the auction" . . . READ MORE
UNEMPLOYMENT PUSHING MORE
HOMEOWNERS TO FORECLOSURE
REUTERS: Cities in the U.S. Sun Belt states of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona dominated the record foreclosure spree in the first half of the year, but distress in other regions emerged as joblessness spread, RealtyTrac said on Thursday . . . With the unemployment rate near a 26-year high and many employers cutting wages, more consumers in areas that were initially spared in the foreclosure explosion are now behind in their home loan payments . . . READ MORE
F.D.I.C. TO BREAK UP BAD BANKS
WALL STREET JOURNAL: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., grappling with the worst banking crisis since the 1990s, is poised to start breaking failed financial institutions into good and bad pieces in an effort to drum up more interest from prospective buyers . . . READ MORE
MICROSOFT, YAHOO JOIN
FORCES AGAINST GOOGLE
USA TODAY: Yahoo's 10-year deal with Microsoft to battle Google for online search customers and ad sales is the boldest initiative Carol Bartz has made since she became Yahoo's CEO in January. But . . . even her vow that the alliance would deliver "boatloads of value for Yahoo" left many investors stony faced . . . Yahoo shares fell 12% on Wednesday to $15.14 as Microsoft shares rose 1%, to $23.80 . . . READ MORE
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