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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (46548)	2/18/2009 4:39:46 AM
From: TobagoJack	3 Recommendations Respond to of 219913

i am not surprised i am not shocked i take it for granted and as a matter of course i am merely giggling re maurice mq and laughing about cb ilaine

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (46548)	2/18/2009 8:26:57 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 219913

Furloughed Brazil Autoworkers Return As Sales.Thousands of Brazilian auto workers who were put on temporary leave since sales slumped in November returned to the assembly lines last month as sales picked up. Furloughed Brazil Autoworkers Return As Sales. SAO PAULO -(Dow Jones)- Thousands of Brazilian auto workers who were put on temporary leave since sales slumped in November returned to the assembly lines last month as sales picked up. "Sales are a lot better in February and continuing the trend from January's uptick," Gustavo Luis Schmidt, sales director of Volkswagen AG (VLKAY) Brazil unit, said Tuesday. Volkswagen was Brazil's market leader in January, followed by Fiat SpA (FIATY) and General Motors Corp. (GM). Sales have been better since the start of the year. The first two weeks in February saw sales rise 15.5% to 109,258 units when compared to the same two week period in January. When compared to the first two weeks of February's sales in 2008, Brazil's biggest auto makers sold 7.4% more. Car sales rose 11.2% to 88,507 units in the first two weeks of February, while pick-ups and SUV sales rose 37.7% to 20,751 units. Already, January motor vehicle sales rose 1.5% over December, the National Motor Vehicles Manufacturers Association, or Anfavea, said last Monday. Schmidt attributed the sales increase to a government industrial tax break at the end of the year, which resulted in sticker-price declines of as much as 7.4% . The tax break ends March 31. Production also rose a surprising 92.7% to 186,124 units last month as auto workers started trickling into work on the assembly lines of the top three national auto makers. Fiat, Brazil's No. 1 retail auto leader in 2008, has all of its 15,000 employees working at its one plant in Sao Paulo since early January. The plant is producing around 2,600 cars and trucks a day, down from an average of 3,000 vehicles daily at the height of Brazil's auto boom in 2008. Vehicle sales in Brazil rose 14.5% in 2008 to 2.82 million units, though production rose 8% to 3.2 million vehicles that same year. Car sales started declining in October when banks raised interest rates and shortened the terms of car loan in response to a fast onrushing global credit crunch. Brazil's automotive sales declined for three months in a row before picking up in January. February sales are seen rising on the month, as well. Volkswagen has around 21,000 employees currently producing at its four assembly lines, after giving them much of December off. General Motors also has around 22,000 of its workers back to work. Its motor division is still maintaining a policy of forced holidays. GM is currently producing around 2,500 cars and trucks daily, a press manager said, also lower than 2008's peak. Brazil has been a shining star for international auto companies over the last three years. As sales have slipped in Europe and the U.S., car sales for GM, Volkswagen and Fiat have broken records year over year, making it an important country for European and U.S. vehicle makers. In the U.S., troubled General Motors will present to the public later Tuesday its 800- to 900-page report explaining how the company can turn around its operations. GM in the U.S. has lost more than $70 billion since 2004, for an average of $ 17.4 billion in losses yearly for four years ended in 2008. In Brazil, GM brought in around 9.5 billion Brazilian reals, or around $4.13 billion, in 2008.

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (46548)	2/18/2009 8:27:06 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 219913

Germany passes draft bank nationalization bill, allow the government to forcibly nationalize ailing financial institutions. Germany passes draft bill allowing forced nationalizations of ailing banks BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- The German government passed a draft bill Wednesday that will allow the government to forcibly nationalize ailing financial institutions. In a news release, the German Ministry of Finance stated that measures taken so far have done a lot to stabilize German financial markets, but that as an "Ultima Ratio," the government will allow the forced nationalization of financial institutions by taking over shares at what the release calls "a reasonable price." Forced nationalization is only possible if all other measures to stabilize the institution have failed. The process of nationalizing a bank must begin before June 30th 2009. This measure will be part of Germany's law to stabilize financial markets. The German government is currently contemplating forcibly nationalizing the bank Hypo Real Estate which has already received 102 billion Euros from the government in loans and loan guarantees.