November 30th, 2009 — Arab, Crisis, Debt, Dubai, Market Crash, UAE
Stocks in the Persian Gulf state of Dubai fell more than 7% Monday, the first day of trading after the state’s debt problems shocked financial markets around the world last week.
The index for the Dubai Financial Market, the emirate’s primary stock exchange, ended the day down 7.3%.
The announcement last week raised fears about the overall health of the global financial system and made investors nervous across the globe. Concerns were eased slightly on Sunday after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) offerd Dubai some support.
The UAE, a federation of seven emirates announced that it will establish an emergency liquidity facility to help prevent Dubai from defaulting on its debts.
Fellow emirate Abu Dhabi also announced plans to provide aid to some selected Dubai banks and financial establishments.
Major indexes in Europe remained under pressure this afternoon, with shares in London, Paris and Frankfurt down about 1% in afternoon trading.
November 29th, 2009 — Government Intervention, Mortgage, Mortgage Loans, Treasury Department
The U.S. Treasury Dept. is planning to meet with mortgage lenders and servicers on Monday to urge them to do more to rework troubled home loans.
The Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for financial stability, Herbert Allison, will meet with the mortgage lenders because the Department has been expressing dissatisfaction with lenders recently over the slow rate at which they are amending loan agreements to help borrowers meet their monthly obligations.
In addition, the Treasury Department will be taking steps to enhance mortgage servicer accountability as part of a broader program to increase conversion rates to permanent modifications.
September 10th, 2009 — Auto Loans, Automobile Industry, Automobiles, Automotive, Bailout, Chrysler, GM, General Motors, Lee Iacocca, Whitacre
It looks like General Motors is taking a page from Chrysler’s 1980s playbook as it will soon be running ads featuring Chairman Ed Whitacre. This is not an original idea, however, but a copy of something Chrysler’s then chair Lee Iacocca did in 1982 and 1984 (see below for videos), when that company had accepted federal loan guarantees to keep them out of bankruptcy. “If you can find a better car, buy it,” Iacocca said as Chrysler’s pitchman.
The specifics of GMs new ad campaign will be announced today or tomorrow, said a spokesperson at GM. Whitacre, a former AT&T CEO, joined GM’s board after Detroit-based GM’s July 10 exit from a U.S.-backed bankruptcy.
GM is not the only car company to copy Chrysler’s tactic - Ford had Bill Ford appear on TV in 2002, when the company’s shares plummeted over 40% after claims related to fatal rollover accidents of Explorer SUV’s.
Watch the Chrysler Videos from 1982 and 1984: