Update #2: Mitt Romney argues “Let Detroit go Bankrupt in a new op-ed for the New York Times
Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.
I love cars, American cars. I was born in Detroit, the son of an auto chief executive. In 1954, my dad, George Romney, was tapped to run American Motors when its president suddenly died. The company itself was on life support — banks were threatening to deal it a death blow. The stock collapsed. I watched Dad work to turn the company around — and years later at business school, they were still talking about it. From the lessons of that turnaround, and from my own experiences, I have several prescriptions for Detroit’s automakers.
Update: Consumer prices drop a record 1%, Housing starts fall 4.5% to lowest level since 1959
Today new numbers on housing starts, building permits and the consumer price index before the opening bell today. DOW futures have lowered in anticipation of the news and after overnight falls in foreign markets.
- When going to Congress to beg for money, try not taking a $20,000 a trip private jet.
- Top auto executives will return to Capitol Hill today to beg for cash
- The Economist writes that CITI will need to do more than just layoffs in order to show it is in control
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