Friday, December 5, 2008
John F. Martin/General Motors GM Chairman Rick Wagoner poses with a Chevy Malibu Sedan. The head honchos of the big three U.S. automakers are back on Capitol Hill pleading for an even larger bailout this time. Last month, the executives flew to Washington, D.C. on private corporate jets to ask congress for a helping hand of $25 billion dollars in loans. This week, the big chiefs […]
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
It’s official. A report from the National Bureau of Economic Research confirmed what most Americans already know, we’re in a recession. The bureau evaluates the nation’s economic cycles and it says the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007. On that news Monday, the shaky stock market took a serious dive with the Dow Jones Industrial closing down […]
Saturday, November 29, 2008
I will no longer be able to think of Black Friday as just the day after Thanksgiving that kick starts the holiday shopping season. Yesterday, the crowds showed up to hunt for bargains, but some really ugly incidents marred this yearly tradition. About a 100 miles or so away at a Toys ‘R’ Us in Palm Desert, horrified shoppers watched two women go at each other […]
Monday, November 24, 2008
The bigwigs running Citigroup, Inc. can rest easier in their plush offices, now that the Bush administration has tossed them $20 billion of taxpayer money. This is the second money lifeline for this mega-financial services company. Earlier, the government pumped $25 billion of our money into Citigroup. During a news conference this morning, President George Bush defended the rescue of Citigroup saying, “We have made […]
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wall Street investors are getting very nervous about the economy and that makes the rest us pretty jumpy as well. Today the stock market tumbled off a cliff with a drop of 445 points, closing at 7,552. Apparently a host of bad economic news, including the failure of congress to come up with a solution to the Big Three automakers’ copped […]
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
FLLewis / A Writer’s Groove – Burbank Gasoline prices are looking real good these days, but consumers are too busy struggling to stay afloat in the sinking economy to enjoy the bargains at the pumps. I was out this morning and found self-serve regular at two gas stations on Glenoaks Boulevard in Burbank selling at $2.39 a gallon. The Auto Club of Southern […]
Monday, October 27, 2008
FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank Back in August, gas was selling at over $4 a gallon and many worried it was going to crack the $5 a gallon mark. Recently, I heard a radio news announcer say gas prices have “fallen off a cliff.” True, the price of a gallon of gasoline is coming down at the pumps, but they need to […]
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Some of us are still getting over the $85 billion bailout insurance conglomerate AIG got from the federal government a few weeks ago. Now comes word AIG is getting billions more in federal money. You’d think the company would have sold off some of its vast assets before coming back to the bailout well again, but no. Yesterday it was announced, the New York Federal Reserve is lending […]
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Burbank/August 2008 I complained a lot during the summer about the jacked-up prices of gasoline. As recently as mid-August gas prices at the pumps in Burbank were still over $4 a gallon. Then prices began to tumble. About two weeks ago, I paid $3.70 a gallon — on Monday, I paid even less, $3.60 a gallon. I should be doing the happy […]