This is some weather we’re having, right? Chrysler is expected to go Chapter 11, with the vultures already circling. As anticipated, Daniel Smith got out of jail, and more party lists make it to the show.
The IMF recently published Global Prospects and Policies:
Current and Forward looking Indicators
Of course among other things that IMF posted last week was their Staff Position: Coping with the Crisis: Policy Options for Emerging Market Countries.
Related to this whole, global economic crisis and particularly IMF’s flat growth rate projection for the Philippines, the Philippine Central Bank (Banko Central) and the Philippine Government were quoted by the Inquirer saying that it was going to beat expectations:
BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said the country could avoid “a major slippage in growth” because of strong public consumption, comparably less dependence on external demand, strongly-founded remittances, and shift to high-value services in the business processoutsourcing (BPO) sector.
And President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was confident that the Philippines would weather the storm:
In Mactan, Cebu, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the Philippines has so far weathered the “worst of the global crisis.”
“That doesn’t mean that we have not been affected. We are holding our own. We remain cautiously optimistic that our resources and plans will allow us to manage our way through this difficult time because we rebooted our economy many years ago, and this has held us in good stead,” she said before Asian and Oceanian Stock Exchanges Federation at the Shangri-la Mactan hotel.
Funny that in this country, in terms of either the economy and charter change, only one mode matters?
George Akerlof and Robert Shiller writing for the Wall Street Journal had this to say about Good Government and Animal Spirits; every talented player understands the importance of a strong referee:
Moreover, entrepreneurs and companies do not just sell people what they really want. They also sell people what they think they want, and not infrequently what they think they want turns out to be snake oil. Especially in financial markets, this leads to excesses, and to bankruptcies that cause failures in the economy more generally. All of these processes are driven by stories. The stories that people tell to themselves — about themselves, about how others behave, and even about how the economy as a whole behaves — all influence what they do. These stories vary over time.
Such a world of animal spirits justifies the economic intervention of government. Its role is not to harness animal spirits but really to set them free, to allow them to be maximally creative. A brilliant player wants a referee, for only when the game has appropriate rules can he really show his talents. While the sports of baseball and football haven’t changed much in the last century, the economy has — and American financial regulation hasn’t had an overhaul in 70 years. The challenge for the Obama administration, along with the U.S. Congress and our SROs, is to invent a new and better American version of the capitalist game.
Guess everyone is in the game of trying to think about what the future Capitalist Philosophy is going to be. That’s not to say, I disagree. In my humble opinion, the role of Governments should act as brilliant referee aside from defense, finance, foreign policy and law.
Going back a bit to Akerlot and Shiller’s and their comment on what people think:
Moreover, entrepreneurs and companies do not just sell people what they really want. They also sell people what they think they want, and not infrequently what they think they want turns out to be snake oil.
I suppose, you got to be a bit crazy and a maverick. What’s the biggest success story on innovation? Apple. Proof? That’s US$1.33 earnings per diluted share, and US$29 Billion in the bank. They posted their best non-holiday quarter to date amidst a recession and declining PC industry sales . So is that because of Apple’s innovation and better build quality?
Oh, one more thing, saw this lurking on the web:
Yummy.
Sea food paella. It made my mouth drool and wished it was up for dinner.
Updated: sorry forgot to mention that the paella image is by the Sea Salt with Food Blog. Also i’ve been getting questions on where the recipe is, just visit that blog and you’ll find it there ;) cheers!
Popularity: 1% [?]
Is it bad? I mean, as bad as the New York Times is reporting?
good summary for the week, a lot really is happening.. including Obama's first 100 days.. and that Supreme Court move, yeah, it was surprising to see it happen in this stage..
Chrysler Bankruptcy is the talk of the town here, and I should know, I'm in the thick of where that battle is going to be waged..
i don't know what's happening on the ground aside from stuff i read off the New York Times but it looks like they'll go chapter 11.
Chrysler is expected to go Chapter 11, with the vultures already circling.
Hi cocoy. I wonder why you chose to call the new investors 'vultures'. From what I gather, investors who take over a failed company are doing the community and the economy a service. For instance, where will all those workers go if it werent for the 'vultures'? What wil happen to the equipment?
Anyway, according to this, the news about Chrsyler's demise is greatly exaggerated.
Fiat may get the assets sans the headache of having to deal the the union. [note i use the term "headache" very loosely.]
IMHO, that's a good thing.
The buy-out ought to jump start the development of more fuel efficient cars using Fiat's cutting edge technology.
More at the Wall Street Journal – http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12390400642309374...
Yes that's how you get out of a depression. Not through government bailouts (using taxes), but by allowing these pampered companies to fail and be liquidated. New people will come in, and this time, even they can make a go at a being profitable since they could buy the assets on the cheap.
Good riddance to these dinosaurus … either they go small, lean and nimble or maintain their american arrogance. I still love my Tamaraw smoke-belcher anytime of the day.
Apple is slow, yet, it's cool. It's just overly-hyped by hollywood. Cool, Hollywod-types lug along Apple in cafes. Placement of Apple products in Hollywood movies is subtle and very effective.
… and, oh, that Cocoy's Paella … There should be a regulation in FV that there should be no postings of Paella picture … it's almost midnight and there's no carenderia offering Paella around … Hmmpfff …
Crysler, Daniel Smith, etc…are part of the entertainment in our times. The Paella looks good. I would like
to taste some of it. Nicole is gone, Smith is also gone. We are now left alone to entertain ourselves. We
have still our clown politicians to do that entertaining.
Right on! Something is coming down the pipeline. It's called Philippine Politics Reality show …
Now we got rid of Nicole&Smith, Failon, ZtE, Justice Sabio let's go back to pekeng-peryodistas idiotic reports … I don't read Philippine newspapers … I get to know news about Philippines in the Carenderia, blogsites and forums … there I get the skinny of it all than from the degenerate 4th estate with perpekt englsichtzes and spelings …
“Apple ……..and US$29 Billion in the bank.”
Just a point of clarification and comparison. $29B is not what it holds in the bank. The figure is for cash and other current assets such as marketable securities. Cash most probably represents a 3rd of that.
By way of comparison, Apple is a $30+B company, while Microsoft hovers between $60 to 70 B. The latter’s current assets alone top over $30B. And at this time, it most probably holds the same amount of cash in the bank as Apple.
Once again an excellent written post from you. Keep it up!