Pareja admite ser culpable de vender drogas a Winehouse
Una pareja británica que llegó a vender a un periódico un video de la cantante Amy Winehouse supuestamente fumando crack, se declaró culpable de cargos relacionados con drogas.
Johnny Blagrove y Cara Burton admitieron hoy en una corte que ellos se ofrecieron a llevarle drogas a Winehouse, incluyendo cocaína y éxtasis.
Los fiscales dijeron que la pareja filmó a Winehouse secretamente para luego vender video al periódico The Sun. En enero el periódico publicó las imágenes en que supuestamente se muestra a la cantante fumando crack.
Sin embargo, los detectives decidieron que no había evidencia suficiente para presentar cargos contra la intérprete de “Rehab” y “You Know I’m Not Good”.
El fiscal Sean Larkin dijo que la policía allanó la casa de la pareja y encontró una lista de celebridades a las que les habrían vendido drogas, incluyendo Winehouse.
Un juez le ordenó a ambos regresar al tribunal el 28 de noviembre para la lectura de sentencia.
Del Toro conmovido por los escritos del “Che”
October 31, 2008 by Heist
Filed under Current News
El Che Guevara “hubiera sido uno de los grandes” escritores de América Latina si hubiese querido dedicarse a la literatura, dijo el actor puertorriqueño Benicio del Toro, quien ha encarnado al guerrillero argentino en el filme de Steven Soderbergh.
En una entrevista que publica hoy el diario bonaerense Clarín, subrayó además que “nadie” puede decir que no han pasado los hechos que narra “Che, el argentino”, porque estudió su vida y habló con familiares y amigos del guerrillero antes de rodar el film.
Aseguró también que tiene ganas de seguir actuando “y tal vez, a lo mejor tratar” de dirigir un filme sobre una historia propia, aunque eso sea tan “difícil” como “hacer una conferencia de prensa donde todo el mundo está haciendo preguntas todo el día”.
Del Toro dijo que comparte los ideales que defendía Guevara, salvo la lucha armada, y que empezó a conocer la personalidad del guerrillero al comprar “de casualidad” un libro suyo en México.
Era “un libro de cartas que él había escrito a su familia en Argentina, a la tía, de la que era muy amigo, a su madre, a su padre. Lo leí y me conmovió mucho cómo escribía”, comentó.
“Yo siempre he dicho que el Che, de haber querido ser escritor, hubiese sido uno de los grandes de Latinoamérica”, apuntó luego de elogiar las cartas “cómicas, llenas de energía” que escribió el guerrillero.
El actor puertorriqueño señaló que está de acuerdo “con muchas cosas” de los ideales del Che, entre ellas que “el hombre no explote al hombre” o que “hay que defender a los más débiles”.
“Con la lucha armada no, no necesariamente estaría de acuerdo ahora mismo. A lo mejor, pero a lo mejor, en los años 60 no sería yo, sería otra persona, y estaría de acuerdo con la lucha armada de aquella época”, matizó.
Del Toro destacó que el mundo ha cambiado de tal forma que él vive “en un país” donde “por primera vez está la posibilidad de que un presidente sea negro”, en alusión al candidato presidencial demócrata
Barack Obama.
“En los 60, en ese mismo país tú decías que el presidente iba a ser negro y te colgaban del árbol de mango más cercano”, puntualizó.
Regalo de Halloween para los fans de Springsteen
Nueva Jersey- Bruce Springsteen tiene un regalito de Halloween para sus seguidores. El rockero ha puesto en su sitio de internet una nueva canción que se puede descargar gratis, titulada “A Night With the Jersey Devil” (Una noche con el Demonio de Jersey). El tema tiene ritmo de blues, y en ella Springsteen canta acerca de “16 brujas que conjuran 16 hechizos”.
“Si creciste en el sur o el centro de Jersey, creciste con el ‘Jersey Devil’ (Demonio de Jersey). Aquí hay un pequeño regalo musical de Halloween. !Que te diviertas!”, escribió el cantante en su página.
También hay un video en que se muestra a Springsteen como el legendario demonio. Previamente esta semana Springsteen anunció que, contrario a su tradición, él y su esposa no montarán su usual decoración de Halloween, que suele incluir múltiples personajes con máscaras y elaborados decorados.
La gran cantidad de visitantes a su vecindario de Rumson ha generado preocupación por la seguridad de los niños y sus padres, explicaron entonces.
Michael Jackson no participará en reunión de Jackson 5
Michael Jackson negó el jueves su participación en una reunión del famoso grupo del sello Motown, un día después de que su hermano mayor, Jermaine, dijera que la descolorida estrella del pop se había sumado al proyecto.
“Mis hermanos y hermanas tienen todo mi amor y mi apoyo, y ciertamente hemos compartido muchas experiencias geniales, pero en este momento no tengo planes para grabar o ir de gira con ellos”, declaró en un comunicado el autoproclamado “rey del pop”.
Jackson, de 50 años, señaló que se encontraba en el estudio de grabación trabajando en “proyectos nuevos y emocionantes”.
Sin embargo, Jermaine Jackson, de 53, declaró el miércoles en Australia que el clan estaba desarrollando la música y la logística para realizar una gira el próximo año.
Según fue citado por la Associated Press australiana, Jermaine dijo, “Va a ser más como un asunto familiar. (La hermana menor) Janet será la primera y por supuesto, los Jackson 5 originales (…) Michael, Randy y la familia entera (…) estamos en el estudio, planeando salir el año próximo”.
Michael Jackson no ha apoyado estas conversaciones sobre un reencuentro, ni acompañó a sus hermanos en Los Angeles para recibir un premio a la carrera de la banda en septiembre.
El grupo, integrado también por Jackie, de 57 años; Tito, de 55; y Marlon, de 51, así como por el miembro no oficial, Randy, de 47, alcanzó la fama a principios de la década de 1970 con temas como “I Want You Back”, “ABC” y “I’ll Be There”.
Jackson 5 realizó una gira por última vez en 1984, cuando Michael Jackson ya era una estrella importante debido a su carrera como solista.
El comunicado de Jackson se atribuyó a un portavoz apodado “Dr. Tohme”. La firma de publicidad que distribuyó el documento rehusó informar sobre la identidad de esta persona.
“ALMA EN LIBERTAD” ARRANCA
Con el “Alma en Libertad” arranca en las ondas de la radio nacional el cantautor colombiano Jorge Villamizar. El nuevo tema corresponde al segundo sencillo de la primera producción como solista del cantante tras alcanzar el éxito con el grupo Bacilos del que fuera su vocalista líder por varios años y con el que recibió un Grammy®.
Esta semana Jorge Villamizar se presentó ante más de 3,000 personas que se dieron cita en la arena del BankUnited Center de la Universidad de Miami para disfrutar la actuación en vivo del intérprete de “Ninguna”. Durante el evento, que conmemoraba los 25 años del Festival de Miami, Villamizar compartió con grandes leyendas de la música que incluyó invitados como la Orquesta de Henry Mancini, Bruce Hornsby, Jon Secada, y Patty Austin, por mencionar algunos. La impresionante participación de Villamizar fue ovacionada después de entregar algunos de sus grandes éxitos como “Tabaco y Chanel” y su nuevo sencillo “Alma en Libertad”.
Su álbum en solitario, que lleva por título el nombre del artista, contiene canciones como: “Cómo Vivir Así”, “Enredadera”, “Ninguna”, “Alma En Libertad”, “Espejo”, “Qué Más Quisiera Yo”, “Espero Que Tú Puedas Vivir Con Lo Que Tengo Para Dar”, “Pequeños Romances”, “El Colombiano Errante”, “Dime Quien” y “Qué Pereza.
Jorge Villamizar está encargado de abrir el concierto de Joan Manuel Serrat que se presentará el próximo jueves, 6 de noviembre en el James L. Knight Center en Miami.
Más Sobre Jorge Villamizar:
Jorge nació en Colombia en 1970. Sus padres se mudaron a Ecuador cuando él tenía diez años, regresó a Colombia a los 18 y se enroló en la Escuela Naval en Cartagena. Luego partió hacia Londres, donde permaneció dos años estudiando Ciencias Políticas, regresando a Miami en 1992, donde radica actualmente. La formación musical de Villamizar proviene de su madre, quien le enseñó a tocar la guitarra y desde muy joven lo expuso a la música de los Beatles y al folklore de los Andes. A los 14 años le abrió un show a la legendaria banda de rock argentino Soda Stereo con su banda del colegio en Quito. Durante su estancia en la Escuela Naval, a manera de escape de la estricta vida militar, Jorge compuso sus primeras canciones completas. Viviendo en Londres, Jorge comenzó en su tiempo libre a tocar en el metro y las calles de la ciudad; aquí fue descubierto por Robin Jones, un legendario músico londinense que lo invitó a participar en su banda, King Salsa. Tras su estancia en la capital británica, Jorge llegó a Miami en 1992, donde se graduó en Administración de Empresas y, en su tiempo libre, formó su banda Bacilos que rápidamente se convirtió en un éxito en el circuito local de Miami, en donde tocaron por años. Warner Music Latina los firmó tras escuchar su álbum independiente “Madera”, que fue relanzado como “Bacilos”. La canción “Tabaco y Chanel” invadió las emisoras de radio sudamericanas y llamó la atención de la crítica y de sus colegas. Este álbum auto producido fue nominado a dos premios Grammy®. Le siguió el álbum “Caraluna”, que los convirtió en una de las bandas más reconocidas de la región. Ese disco ganó dos premios Grammy® Latinos y un codiciado premio Grammy® americano, entre otros premios. Canciones como “Caraluna” y “Mi Primer Millón” se convirtieron en éxitos, y aún hoy en día suenan de forma recurrente en la radio. Después de su tercer álbum “Sinvergüenza”, Bacilos se desintegró, tocando su último concierto en el festival de Viña del Mar 2007. Ese álbum se hizo acreedor a un cuarto premio Grammy®. Para ese entonces, Jorge Villamizar ya era un compositor reconocido, y artistas como Julieta Venegas, Paulina Rubio y Marc Anthony habían cantado sus canciones. Antes de iniciar su nueva carrera como solista, Jorge Villamizar se tomó un tiempo de descanso en París, Bogotá, Cartagena y Miami. En este período terminó de componer los temas de su primer proyecto solista, álbum homónimo que incluye en su totalidad temas de su autoría. Como productor, Jorge eligió a Richard Blair. La mancuerna creativa comenzó la etapa de grabación en Miami, trasladándose luego a Bogotá, donde contaron con la colaboración de músicos como Chucho Merchán en el bajo (Pete Townsend, David Gilmour, Pretenders, Eurythmics), Teto Ocampo en la guitarra, Roberto Cuao en los grooves, y Goyo, Erika yJanio en los coros.
Bill Clinton: Obama representa “futuro de EE.UU.”
October 30, 2008 by Heist
Filed under Current News, Politics
En una muestra de armonía mutua que no se había visto antes, Bill Clinton elogió a Barack Obama ayer, miércoles, una poderosa dupla diseñada para inspirar a unos demócratas que ya presienten la victoria.
“Barack Obama representa el futuro de Estados Unidos, y tienen que estar allí para él el próximo martes”, dijo Clinton, con Obama a su lado, ante los vítores de una multitud de demócratas o partidarios de éstos.
A su vez, Obama elogió al predecesor del presidente George W. Bush, y dijo de Clinton: “En caso de que a todos se les haya olvidado, esto es lo que es tener un gran presidente”.
Obama incluso animó a la multitud a vitorear más, al decir: “Bill Clinton. ¡Arriba!” Y allí estaba Clinton, riéndose a gusto cada vez que Obama se burlaba de su rival republicano John McCain.
En la misma jornada, el candidato presidencial demócrata gastó más de cuatro millones de dólares en 30 minutos de tiempo televisivo prepagado para dar su última presentación ante el público en medio de un pastiche de historias estadounidenses.
Coronó el comercial difundido en tiempo de mayor audiencia con una transmisión en vivo desde Sunrise, Florida, en la que exhortó con todas sus fuerzas a que lo ayuden y voten por él.
“Si ustedes me apoyan, y luchan a mi lado, y votan por mí, entonces les prometo que no sólo ganaremos la Florida; ganaremos estas elecciones. Y juntos cambiaremos este país y cambiaremos el mundo”, afirmó ante un público que rugía ante él.
El comercial y sus declaraciones en vivo desde uno de los estados más disputados en la contienda presidencial representaron un regreso a los temas de unificación de su discurso en la Convención Nacional Demócrata del 2004 que lo lanzaron a la política a nivel nacional.
“En seis días, podemos elegir la esperanza en lugar del miedo y la unidad en lugar de la división, la promesa del cambio sobre el poder del status quo”, afirmó. “En seis días, podemos unirnos como una nación y un pueblo, y una vez más elegir nuestra mejor historia”.
La presentación del ex presidente y el candidato fue la primera vez que compartieron un escenario en la campaña, y coronó uno de los días más ambiciosos de la postulación de Obama a la Casa Blanca, que incluyó el comercial de 30 minutos.
Clinton tomó a Obama de la mano y la sostuvo en alto cuando los dos hombres subieron al escenario. El ex mandatario defendió una y otra vez a Obama, describiéndolo como un pensador sólido con políticas inteligentes.
En uno de sus testimonios, elogió a Obama por buscar el consejo de los expertos —incluyéndolo a él y a su esposa, Hillary Rodham Clinton, quien en las primarias compitió contra Obama— sobre cómo manejar la crisis financiera del país antes de actuar.
“Gente, no podemos fallar en esto”, señaló Clinton. “Nuestro país está en la cuerda floja. Y tenemos tanto potencial y al mismo tiempo tanto peligro. Este hombre debe ser nuestro presidente”.
Obama dijo de los dos Clinton: “Estoy orgulloso de llamarlos mis amigos”.
LARAS rendirá tributo a Gloria Estefan
La estrella de la música en inglés John Legend, además de Alexander Pires y Miami Sound Machine cantarán en el tributo a Gloria Estefan, nombrada Personalidad del Año.
La Academia Latina de Artes y Ciencias de la Grabación (LARAS, por sus siglas en inglés) confirmó la participación de estos artistas en el homenaje que recibirá la cantante estadunidense de origen cubano, quien precisamente inició su carrera en la música con Miami Sound Machine.
Estos intérpretes se unirán a los ya anunciados, entre ellos Banda El Recodo, José Feliciano, Luis Fonsi, Patti LaBelle, Gian Marco, Ednita Nazario, La Orquesta Filarmónica de las Américas con Alondra de la Parra, Carlos Santana y Jon Secada.
El evento se llevará a cabo el 12 de noviembre en el George R. Brown Convention Center, en Houston, Texas, un día antes de la IX entrega de premios Grammy Latino, prevista para realizarse en el Toyota Center de esa ciudad.
De acuerdo con lo organizadores, la ganadora del premio Emmy, la presentadora de noticias María Elena Salinas será maestra de ceremonias. Estefan fue seleccionada como Personalidad del Año 2008 por LARAS, por sus contribuciones filantrópicas y logros profesionales y culturales.
Regios para Viña
RKM & Ken Y se sometieron voluntariamente a un estricto régimen que combina dieta, ejercicios y clases de canto. Todo esto en un afán por alistarse en todos los aspectos posibles para su debut en el Festival Internacional de Viña del Mar pautado para febrero del 2009, en Chile.
En cuanto a dieta respecta, los intérpretes de “Te regalo amores”, aseguran comer de todo varias veces al día pero en pequeñas porciones. Mientras que con los ejercicios la dinámica es distinta, ya que cada cual hace una rutina por separado, al menos cinco días a la semana.
Con los ejercicios la dinámica es diferente, ya que cada cual los hace por separado. RKM corre por las mañanas y luego le pega a una pera de boxeo por varias horas.
Tan fiel ha sido a su método que ha logrado bajar 20 libras y espera adelgazar 10 adicionales. Kenny por su parte, quien aspira a bajar10 libras de peso, cuenta con la asistencia del entrenador personal Ruy Fernando Delgado.
De la manera que sea ambos tienen que ir a pesarse y medirse semanalmente a las oficinas de Pina Records, su disquera y empresa de manejo, para llevar constancia de los logros. “Queremos estar saludables y bien en forma para poder presentarnos con éxito en ese escenario”, dijo Ken Y.
Explicó que sus expectativas son muy altas, en términos del evento, y que desde ahora están tomando en cuenta “todo” para continuar el legado de otras figuras nacionales que han pasado por el cedazo del “Monstruo” como se le llama al público de la Quinta Vergara donde se efectúa el festival.
Entre éstos figuran Ricky Martin, Chayanne, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Calle 13 y Wisin & Yandel.El dúo de raperos, que se caracteriza por temas de amor que rayan en lo pop, sin dejar a un lado sus raíces urbanas, esperan combinar el romanticismo con la energía que los caracteriza para alcanzar una empatía directa con la audiencia.
De hecho, así lo estarán repasando durante sus presentaciones de noviembre y diciembre del corriente para luego en dicha ocasión estar “más que listos”.Esta no es la primera vez que RKM & Ken Y, que promueven el disco “The Royalty”, se presentan en suelo chileno, ya que han visitado varias de sus ciudades durante los pasados dos años.
“El público de allá (Chile) nos ha recibido con mucho cariño. Creo que los fanáticos, a diferencia de los de acá (Puerto Rico) que nos pueden ver en cualquier momento, se desviven por saber de nosotros tanto que en ocasiones saben aún más que nosotros mismos”, señaló Kenny al tiempo que su colega asintió.
Por Rita Portela López
EL VOCERO
McCain camp trying to scapegoat Palin
John McCain’s campaign is looking for a scapegoat. It is looking for someone to blame if McCain loses on Tuesday.
And it has decided on Sarah Palin.
In recent days, a McCain “adviser” told Dana Bash of CNN: “She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone.”
Imagine not taking advice from the geniuses at the McCain campaign. What could Palin be thinking?
Also, a “top McCain adviser” told Mike Allen of Politico that Palin is “a whack job.”
Maybe she is. But who chose to put this “whack job” on the ticket? Wasn’t it John McCain? And wasn’t it his first presidential-level decision?
And if you are a 72-year-old presidential candidate, wouldn’t you expect that your running mate’s fitness for high office would come under a little extra scrutiny? And, therefore, wouldn’t you make your selection with care? (To say nothing about caring about the future of the nation?)
McCain didn’t seem to care that much. McCain admitted recently on national TV that he “didn’t know her well at all” before he chose Palin.
But why not? Why didn’t he get to know her better before he made his choice?
It’s not like he was rushed. McCain wrapped up the Republican nomination in early March. He didn’t announce his choice for a running mate until late August.
Wasn’t that enough time for McCain to get to know Palin? Wasn’t that enough time for his crackerjack “vetters” to investigate Palin’s strengths and weaknesses, check through records and published accounts, talk to a few people, and learn that she was not only a diva but a whack job diva?
But McCain picked her anyway. He wanted to close the “enthusiasm gap” between himself and Barack Obama. He wanted to inject a little adrenaline into the Republican National Convention. He wanted to goose up the Republican base.
And so he chose Palin. Is she really a diva and a whack job? Could be. There are quite a few in politics. (And a few in journalism, too, though in journalism they are called “columnists.”)
As proof that she is, McCain aides now say Palin is “going rogue” and straying from their script. Wow. What a condemnation. McCain sticks to the script. How well is he doing?
In truth, Palin’s real problem is not her personality or whether she takes orders well. Her real problem is that neither she nor McCain can make a credible case that Palin is ready to assume the presidency should she need to.
And that undercuts McCain’s entire campaign.
This was the deal McCain made with the devil. In exchange for energizing his base by picking Palin, he surrendered his chief selling point: that he was better prepared to run the nation in time of crisis, whether it be economic, an attack by terrorists or, as he has been talking about in recent days, fending off a nuclear war.
“The next president won’t have time to get used to the office,” McCain told a crowd in Miami on Wednesday. “I’ve been tested, my friends, I’ve been tested.”
But has Sarah Palin?
I don’t believe running mates win or lose elections, though some believe they can be a drag on the ticket. Lee Atwater, who was George H.W. Bush’s campaign manager in 1988, told me that Dan Quayle cost the ticket 2 to 3 percentage points. But Bush won the election by 7.8 percentage points.
So, in Atwater’s opinion, Bush survived his bad choice by winning the election on his own.
McCain could do the same thing. But his campaign’s bad decisions have not stopped with Sarah Palin. It has made a series of questionable calls, including making Joe the Plumber the embodiment of the campaign.
Are voters really expected to warmly embrace an (unlicensed) plumber who owes back taxes and complains about the possibility of making a quarter million dollars a year?
And did McCain’s aides really believe so little in John McCain’s own likability that they thought Joe the Plumber would be more likable?
Apparently so. Which is sad.
We in the press make too much of running mates and staff and talking points and all the rest of the hubbub that accompanies a campaign.
In the end, it comes down to two candidates slugging it out.
Either McCain pulls off a victory in the last round or he doesn’t.
And if he doesn’t, he has nobody to blame but himself.
MTV Expected to Announce Beatles ‘Rock Band’ Deal
MTV Networks is expected to announce on Thursday a deal to use songs by The Beatles in its
popular “Rock Band” video game series, marking the band’s first major plunge into the digital music world.
The Beatles’ Apple Corps and Viacom’s [VIA 20.33 --- UNCH (0) ] MTV Networks have been in talks for months. They issued media invitations to a teleconference on “a global music project” on Thursday, but did not give more details.
The Wall Street Journal reported that The Beatles have licensed their songs to “Rock Band,” citing people familiar with the matter.
The deal would be a major win for “Rock Band” — which is developed by MTV’s Harmonix and published by Electronic Arts [ERTS 28.04 --- UNCH (0) ] — against Activision Blizzard’s [ATVI 12.00 --- UNCH (0) ] rival “Guitar Hero” video game. Both franchises let fans play plastic guitars along with music on television screens.
Pop music fans consider The Beatles, who broke up in 1970, one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Surviving members of the group as well as its representatives have jealously guarded the distribution of their music online.
For example, Beatles songs are not available on Apple’s [AAPL 104.55 --- UNCH (0) ] iTunes over concerns by the band members and others close to them that the songs could be easily pirated.
Other bands that have licensed their music to “Guitar Hero” or “Rock Band” include classic rock veterans Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC and others.
The teleconference is at 10 am Thursday in New York.
Among those scheduled to attend were Apple Corps Chief Executive Jeff Jones, MTV Networks Chairman and CEO Judy McGrath and MTV Networks President Van Toffler.
Copyright 2008 Reuters.
Investors Get Back Some Appetite for Risk
Asian share markets rallied and the euro surged on Thursday on initial signs that investors are rediscovering an appetite for risk in response to global efforts to prevent the financial crisis from leading to a deep recession.
Hours after the Federal Reserve met market expectations by slashing its main policy rate to 1 percent, Taiwan and Hong Kong took up the rate-cutting baton and speculation persisted that Japan would follow suit on Friday.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei average index closed up 10 percent, its third straight day of gains, and an index of shares elsewhere in Asia rose over 10 percent.
As well as lowering the cost of money, the U.S. central bank made more of it available: it announced four new currency swap lines with Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and Singapore worth $30 billion each to help ease dollar funding shortages that have crippled money markets around the globe.
The policy move electrified South Korea’s markets, which have been pounded by fears that banks and companies would be unable to get their hands on enough dollars to meet maturing debts.
The won jumped 14.2 percent against the dollar, its biggest daily rise in 11 years, while Seoul shares rose 12 percent. “With this deal, Korea secured a ’safe dollar supplier’ in the Fed and that will ease concerns over a dollar liquidity shortage,” said June Park, an economist at Woori Investment & Securities.
Euro in Demand
The won was not the only currency to benefit as currency traders poked their heads above the parapet.
For weeks the dollar has been unstoppable as U.S. firms and banks have brought money home to pay down debts and investors sought a safe haven. The yen, too, has benefitted from the unwinding of risky bets.
But the euro jumped 2.9 percent against the yen, aided by expectations that the Bank of Japan will cut interest rates on Friday, and rose to $1.3172, 6.8 percent above a 2-1/2-year low of $1.2329 plumbed on Tuesday.
The dollar’s strength was sapped by the cut in the fed funds rate, the rate at which banks borrow from each other overnight, to the lowest level since June 2004.
“The markets got the rate cut that they expected and a policy statement that was decidedly downbeat on the economy,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Group in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Fed said the pace of U.S. economic activity appeared to have slowed markedly and it expected inflation to moderate as a result of lower energy and commodities prices. U.S. data later on Thursday is expected to show that the economy shrank in the July-to-September quarter.
Taiwan cut rates by a quarter-point on Thursday, its third reduction in about a month. Hong Kong, whose rates move in tandem with the Fed’s, duly lowered its base rate by half a point.
China had already cut its borrowing costs on Wednesday, for the third time in six weeks, as had Norway.
The European Central Bank, Australia and Britain are expected to cut next, fearful that the worst financial crisis in 80 years will cause a long global recession.
Policy Response
In addition to monetary easing, governments are rummaging in their policy kits to see how they can best help their economies.
U.S. regulators are finalising a new federal programme to provide up to $600 billion in government guarantees of home mortgages to help prevent foreclosures, a source familiar with the talks said. The programme could be announced as soon as Thursday, the source said.
Governments have already pledged about $4 trillion to support banks and restart money markets to stem the crisis, which was set off by the bursting of a bubble in the U.S. housing market.
Britain indicated it may lift self-imposed limits on government borrowing to counter a recession, while South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said his government would bring forward budget spending and consider ramping up construction spending.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso was set to unveil the country’s second economic stimulus package in two months, seen totalling about 5 trillion yen ($51.3 billion) in new spending, amid predictions he will put off an election many had anticipated next month.
Many of the details have been published already. “I will implement bold policies so people who are confronting pain will feel the real effect,” Aso wrote in his weekly email magazine.
On top of the four swap lines arranged by the Fed, the International Monetary Fund approved an emergency short-term liquidity facility for emerging market economies so they can tap cash to help them weather the credit crisis.
The IMF, together with the European Union and World Bank, has already agreed to a $25.1 billion loan-for-reforms package for Hungary and is in various stages of negotiations to help Ukraine, Belarus, Pakistan and Iceland.
Asia Rampant
Still, poor corporate earnings continued to suggest the economic impact of the financial crisis is only starting to show.
South Korea’s Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s No. 2 memory chip maker, reported its worst quarterly net loss in nearly 8 years, saying the future looks grim.
KBC Securities cut its rating on game-console and software-maker Nintendo Co to “sell” from “hold,” predicting it missed its first-half earnings forecasts due to a stronger yen and faces a profit fall next year.
Major U.S. stock indexes had rallied more than 2 percent on Wednesday before falling back to close lower on worries that slowing growth will take a heavy toll on corporate profits.
Two of the largest U.S. auto parts makers, BorgWarner [BWA 22.26 -1.63 (-6.82%) ] and Tenneco [TEN 3.52 0.43 (+13.92%) ], said the economic crisis would mean more job cuts and plant closings.
“Bigger picture, I don’t think anyone believes that any interest rate cuts are going to affect the underlying issues surrounding mortgage-related and consumer-related credit,” said Chip Hanlon, president of Delta Global Advisors in Huntington Beach, California.
General Motors Corp, which said global auto sales dropped about 7 percent in the third quarter, has asked the U.S. government for some $10 billion to support a merger with smaller rival Chrysler, sources said.
The former head of the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research, Martin Feldstein, was quoted as saying the United States has entered a recession that will last longer and do more damage than any since World War Two.
Copyright 2008 Reuters.
Yahoo, AOL in Due Diligence on Combination
October 29, 2008 by Heist
Filed under Current News
Yahoo and Time Warner’s AOL unit are engaged in “meaningful” due diligence about a possible combination, but a deal is not imminent, a person familiar with the talks said on Wednesday.
CNBC.com
Talks between the two sides have advanced in the past “couple of weeks” and are currently focused on what a combined company might look like and where costs could be saved, said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly because the discussions are confidential.
News of the due diligence between Yahoo [YHOO 12.60 0.24 (+1.94%) ] and Time Warner [TWX 10.06 -0.04 (-0.4%) ] was first reported by the AllThingsDigital blog.
Last week Yahoo reported a profit that declined from last year but matched analysts’ expectations. The Internet advertising firm also lowered its revenue outlook and said it will cut 10 percent of its workforce.
Time Warner, meanwhile, reports its earnings Nov. 5.
Major Issues Overcome in GM-Chrysler Talks
October 29, 2008 by Heist
Filed under Current News
General Motors and Cerberus Capital Management have resolved the major issues in a proposed GM-Chrysler merger, but the final form of any deal would depend on the financing and government support available, sources familiar with the talks said on Wednesday.
Both sides have agreed that GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner would lead the combined automaker, the sources said. A merged GM/Chrysler would be the largest automaker by global sales.
As GM [GM 6.81 0.56 (+8.96%) ] seeks some $10 billion in U.S. government aid to support the deal, Chrysler owner Cerberus is in its own set of intense discussions with banks to refinance Chrysler debt, the sources said.
The lending consortium—which includes JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley—has not made a decision yet, and talks are complicated because lenders have sold part of the debt to other investor groups, the sources said.
The banks hold the first-lien loan of $7 billion issued to finance the Cerberus buyout of an 80-percent stake in Chrysler from Daimler AG last year. Banks have been selling off parts of it in an effort to trim their exposure to risky leveraged buyout debt.
Cerberus and Daimler provided a $2 billion second-lien loan to Chrysler due to weak interest for that debt.
GM has been in talks with Cerberus about buying Chrysler since last month, but the discussions have been snagged by difficulty in securing investment or financing at a time when credit is tight and global auto sales are rapidly declining, others close to the talks have said.
A decision by the Bush administration to provide the government’s first funding for the auto sector since the $1.5 billion bailout of Chrysler in 1980 has been widely seen as the merger’s best chance for success.
The United Auto Workers union has been approached by GM in the course of the talks with Cerberus, people familiar with the negotiations said.
As a condition of government support, GM has offered to merge the auto operations in a way that protects as many jobs and as much of the Chrysler sales volume as possible, sources have said.
Analysts have been skeptical that the merged automaker, which would control some 33 percent of the U.S. market, could be turned around quickly since GM and Chrysler are seen to be struggling with many of the same problems, including excess production capacity and too many dealers.
GM and Cerberus had no comment. A UAW spokesman had no immediate comment.
Global Sales Fall, Trail Toyota
GM said Wednesday that reduced demand in the U.S. and Western Europe helped push the company’s third-quarter worldwide sales down 11 percent, as GM fell further behind Toyota Motor for this year’s No. 1 global sales spot.
GM sold 2.11 million vehicles in the third quarter, while Toyota’s sales for the period fell 4 percent to 2.24 million. The results bring GM’s total sales for January-September to 6.66 million vehicles compared with Toyota’s 7.06 million.
GM said sales declines in the United States and Western Europe offset strong demand from emerging markets. Sales outside of the U.S. grew by 164,000 vehicles in the first nine months of the year.
Mike DiGiovanni, GM’s executive director of global market and industry analysis, said the same economic woes that have resulted in steep drops in U.S. sales this year spread to western Europe during the recent quarter.
North American sales dropped 18.9 percent during the quarter, while overall European sales fell 12.3 percent.
DiGiovanni said that while sales growth in emerging markets may be slowing, it’s still significant. GM reported third-quarter sales increases of 15.1 percent in Russia, 15.5 percent in Brazil, 12 percent in China and 5 percent in India.
“We can’t overact to some of some of the snowballing effects that have happened in the markets these past few weeks,” DiGiovanni said in a conference call. “There’s a lot of positive fundamentals going on around the world that are laying the bed for future growth.”
Sales outside of North America accounted for 61 percent of GM’s total third-quarter sales, up from 56 percent in the same period last year.
Japan-based Toyota [TM 73.96 2.98 (+4.2%) ] has been vying with GM to be the world’s biggest automaker by global sales. Last year, Toyota’s group sales—including those from minicar maker Daihatsu Motor and truck maker Hino Motors—rose to 9.366 million vehicles, just shy of GM’s 9.37 million.
Toyota’s drop in third-quarter sales, which it also attributed to weak U.S. demand along with sluggish sales in its home country, marked its first year-over-year decline in the July through September period since 2001, the company said.
Toyota had posted strong U.S. sales earlier this year, as high gas prices drove consumers to its smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, but its September U.S. sales fell 32 percent.
For the first nine months of this year, GM’s U.S. sales were down 18 percent, while Toyota sales were down 10 percent.
No Comment on Toyota
Separately, GM on Wednesday declined to comment on reports that it was considering seeking help from Japanese rival Toyota, but said executives “routinely discuss issues of mutual interest” with other automakers.
GM emphasized in its statement Wednesday that any conversations it may have had with Toyota were of a routine nature.
“As a policy, we do not confirm or comment publicly on those private discussions, which in many cases do not lead anywhere,” GM said in a statement.
A Kyodo news report, citing sources familiar with the plan, said Toyota was expected to consider quick fixes for the cash-strapped GM, including buying up its assets and helping it secure sufficient business funds.
- AP and CNBC.com staff contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 Reuters.
Fed Cuts Rates Half Point To Lowest Level in 4 Years
The Federal Reserve slashed a key interest rate by half a percentage point as it seeks to revive an economy hit by a long list of maladies stemming from the most severe financial crisis in decades.
AP
The central bank on Wednesday reduced its target for the federal funds rate, the interest banks charge on overnight loans, to 1 percent, a low last seen in 2003-2004.
The funds rate has not been lower since 1958, when Dwight Eisenhower was president.
The cut marked the second half-point reduction in the funds rate this month. The Fed slashed the rate by that amount in a coordinated move with foreign central banks on Oct. 8.
In a brief statement explaining Wednesday’s action, the Fed said the “intensification of financial market turmoil is likely to exert additional restraint on spending, partly by further reducing the ability of households and business to obtain credit.”
The central bank said it had room to lower rates because the spreading economic weakness was lowering the risks that inflation would get out of control. Indeed, the weakness has caused dramatic declines in the price of oil and other commodities.
While many economists believe the country has already fallen into a recession, they think the aggressive efforts by the Fed to cut rates and take other actions to unfreeze credit markets will keep the country from plunging into a prolonged and deep downturn.
The Fed’s action was expected to be quickly followed by a reduction by commercial banks in their prime lending rate, the benchmark for millions of consumer and business loans, by a similar half-point.
But even if the Fed did fulfill the desires of investors, it is not likely to end the turbulence on Wall Street.
Watch video at left for instant reaction.
Analysts are cautioning to be prepared for more stomach-churning days ahead as investors struggle to deal with a severe credit crisis and what could be the worst recession in at least two decades.
The Fed is hoping that the sharply lower rates will help boost economic growth going forward.
The government will release its first look at economic activity in the July-September quarter on Thursday and that is expected to show that the gross domestic product shrank at a rate of 0.5 percent in the third quarter.
Many analysts believe the GDP—the measure of the value of all the goods and services produced in the country—is falling further in the current quarter and will also fall in the first three months of next year.
That pattern would meet the classic definition of a recession as at least two consecutive quarters of declining GDP.
Many economists think that when the National Bureau of Economic Research, the official arbiter of when recessions begin and end in this country, makes its decision, it will date this downturn to the beginning of 2008, when the labor market started shedding jobs.
The country has lost jobs every month this year and the unemployment rate now stands at 6.1 percent.
Economists forecast that it could hit 8 percent by the spring of next year due to the severity of the shutdown of bank lending, a credit crisis triggered by billions of dollars of losses in mortgage lending as defaults soared to record levels.
That has jolted banks, resulted in government takeovers of the nation’s two biggest mortgage companies and the biggest shakeup on Wall Street since the Great Depression.
Banks have become fearful about making new loans, a development that has had ripple effects on American businesses trying to get loans for normal operations, and on American consumers, who are having trouble getting car loans and home loans.
“The credit squeeze has moved from Wall Street to Main Street and it is seriously affecting the real economy and now it has gone global,” said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at the Smith School of Business at California State University, Channel Islands.
Many analysts believe a rate cut in the United States will be followed by cuts in other major economies as central banks around the world try to inject confidence into a badly shaken financial system.
Analysts are split, however, on whether a Fed rate move this week will be followed by another rate cut at the central bank’s last meeting of the year on Dec. 16.
Some analysts think the Fed could drive the funds rate as low as 0.5 percent and might even go to zero, which the Bank of Japan did in an effort to combat a decade-long bout of malaise in the 1990s caused by a real estate bust in that country.
Other analysts believe the Fed will be content to leave the funds rate at 1 percent, partly because pushing it any lower would remove any cushion to cut the rate further should the economy fail to respond and the downturn worsen.
These analysts believe the Fed will depend on its other efforts to battle the credit crisis, which involve supplying massive resources to the banking system.
David Jones, chief economist at DMJ Advisors, said that Fed officials will probably decide that all the global efforts to fight the credit squeeze, including a $700 billion rescue fund in this country, should be given time to work.
But Jones, who thinks the economy will remain in a recession until the middle of next year, said he believes that the Fed will signal that it is prepared to leave the funds rate at 1 percent for some time to come.
When the Fed under former Chairman Alan Greenspan “cut the funds rate to 1 percent and left it there for a year, they kept saying rates would remain low for a considerable period of time,” Jones said.
“I think this time rates will stay at 1 percent for a longer period.”
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Wisin y Yandel se “dejan tentar” en la ‘Ciudad del Sol’
Los reguetoneros boricuas Wisin y Yandel se encuentran hoy en Miami para filmar el video musical de “Me estás tentando”, el sencillo de su nuevo álbum “La Mente Maestra” que sale a la venta el próximo 11 de noviembre.
“Espero que sea del agrado de todos ustedes ya que esta hecho con mucho cariño”, dijo a Efe Juan Luis Morera, mejor conocido como Wisin, quien se encontraba junto al productor y director Jessie Guerrero.
“Sobre todo como ustedes se lo merecen, con unos altos niveles de producción”, agregó a su llegada al estudio de grabación en Miami en compañía de su colega Yandel Veguilla y los raperos Franco “El Gorila” y Jayko.
Según fuentes de la disquera Machete, el costo del video musical, que comenzó a rodarse ayer, ronda los $200,000 dólares, de los cuales el dúo financió casi su totalidad.
Wisin pronosticó que el sencillo será otro éxito del sello discográfico WY Records que fundó en 2005 con Yandel.
Bajo dicho sello, y la distribución de Machete Music, el dúo ha apadrinado nuevos talentos que participan en el álbum “Wisin y Yandel presentan la mente maestra” que co-produjeron con DJ Nesty (responsables de éxitos como “Pegao”, “Sexy Movimiento” y “Yo Te Quiero”).
Nesty ha trabajado con otros grandes exponentes del género como Calle 13, Voltio, Héctor El Father y Don Omar, quien lo apodó “La Mente Maestra”.
“Es algo garantizado, cuando Wisin y Yandel salen a la carretera, sabemos que ustedes lo disfrutan al máximo. Y si no le gusta, le devolvemos el dinero”, bromeó Yandel de la producción número 19 en la carrera del dúo.
El disco contiene 14 temas en los que participan los raperos del sello WY Records como Tony Dize en el corte “No te vayas” y Franco “El Gorila” en “Ella quiere”.
Además se escuchará Víctor “El Nasi” en “Mete presión” y las colaboraciones de Tico “El Imigrante”, Gadiel y Jayko en canciones como “Sex”, “Súper héroes”, “Desnudémonos” y “Cositas macabras”.
Wisin y Yandel se encuentra actualmente nominados por su disco “Los Extraterrestres: Otra dimensión” al Grammy Latino, cuya ceremonia de entrega se realizará el próximo 13 de noviembre en Houston, Texas.
“Ya estar nominados, eso nos dice que estamos trabajando entre los primeros lugares de la música urbana. Eso es lo más importante” dijo Wisin.
“Si ganamos o no, no es necesario. Ya estamos ganando con estar ahí”, añadió.
En la categoría, Wisin y Yandel se enfrentan con sus compatriotas el dúo Alexis & Fido por “Sobrenatural”, Tego Calderón en “El Abayarde Contra-Ataca”, Tito El Bambino en “It’s my time” y el panameño Flex con “Te quiero”.
Posible regreso de los legendarios “Jackson Five”
Jermaine Jackson, el hermano mayor del “rey del pop” Michael Jackson, mencionó hoy la posibilidad del regreso de los legendarios “Jackson Five”.
“La familia Jackson tardó mucho tiempo para reunirse”, dijo Jermaine Jackson, de 53 años, a la agencia de noticias australiana AAP. “Este es el momento adecuado. Lo que hemos estado haciendo es trabajar en la música y toda la logística”.
Los “Jackson Five”, banda creada por el padre Joseph Jackson a mediados de los años 60, tuvieron un enorme éxito en los años 70 y rumores acerca de un regreso estuvieron circulando hace algún tiempo. El grupo nunca se disolvió oficialmente, pero desde hace años que no se presenta en público.
“Estamos en estudio. Estamos planeando hacer una gira el año próximo”, añadió Jackson en Sydney. Será un “asunto familiar”, con Janet, Michael y los “Jackson Five” originales.
El grupo original estaba formado por los hermanos Michael, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine y Marlon Jackson. Posteriomente, Randy Jackson reemplazó a su hermano Jermaine.
Jowell y Randy cada uno luchará por lo suyo
El dúo Jowell y Randy, llamados “Los más sueltos” del reguetón, anunciaron hoy que lanzarán próximamente sus primeros discos como solistas y que en noviembre realizarán juntos una gira por Europa.
Entre los países en los que el dúo se presentará del 6 al 18 de noviembre están Alemania, Suiza, Holanda, Italia y Francia.
Los cantantes de temas como “Agresivo”, “Cuarto nivel” y “Soy una gárgola”, celebrarán además varias presentaciones durante el mes de noviembre en Colombia, aunque no especificaron fechas.
Randy explicó en un comunicado de prensa que sacará al mercado próximamente una producción en el género urbano y otra de bachata.
El disco de bachata, según dijo, será producido por Roy Tavares, Henry y Lenny, del grupo dominicano Aventura, el boricua Almonte y otros músicos que han trabajado en producciones del cantante Toby Love.
“Me encuentro muy entusiasmado y lleno de ánimo para complacer a mi fanaticada”, afirmó Randy.
Jowell, por su parte, sostuvo que se encuentra trabajando en la preproducción de su propio disco, que decidió lanzar por “inquietudes” que tenía con Randy, a quien dijo que “apoya en su reto musical, pues él aprueba el mío”.
“Jowell y Randy es un dúo que ha calado en el público y juntos seguiremos alegrando a nuestros fanáticos. Pero también lucharemos cada uno por sus sueños”, expresó.
Los Yetzons dispuestos a ganar su sitial en la música
October 28, 2008 by Heist
Filed under Current News
Small es hermano de Alexis, del dúo reguetonero Alexis & Fido. Mientras, Anthony es primo de ambos. Y por aquello de que dicen que el talento corre por las venas, tanto Small como Anthony están dispuestos a dejar una huella en el ambiente musical.
José Alexis “Small” Ortiz y José Antonio “Anthony” Figueroa componen el dúo reguetonero Los Yetzons. Ambos se aprestan a publicar su primera producción discográfica “Los Yetzons The Album”, a principios de 2009.
Después de darse a conocer con temas como “Ilógico” (“Invasión Vol.1”), estos jóvenes presentarán un disco sin limitarse al género del reguetón.
“Le estamos dando otro color, porque además de reguetón, que es nuestra base, tenemos bachata, R&B, balada, dance. Es bien variado y bailable”, especificó Anthony.
La decisión de explorar otras vertientes musicales no significa que el reguetón esté perdiendo fuerza, coinciden los jóvenes. Dicen que, por el contrario, está ganando terreno en otros destinos de Sudamérica y España.
“No es que creamos que haya perdido fuerza. Es que somos versátiles y queremos demostrar que tenemos talento. El género está en pleno apogeo, porque en nuestra página tenemos fanáticos de Alemania, China y Alaska”, expresó Small al tiempo que su compañero de dúo comentó que “el boom está en España, Centroamérica y Sudamérica”.
Los Yetzons están apadrinados por el dúo Alexis & Fido. Pero, aseguran que el detalle de que sean familia de Alexis no les causa presión. Al contrario, se sienten afortunados de contar con la experiencia de Alexis, quien los conectó con productores conocidos.
El álbum de Los Yetzons tendrá como invitados a los raperos Don Omar, Arcángel y, dependiendo de las “negociaciones”, podría unirse Daddy Yankee. El trabajo de producción recaerá en Wild Dogz (Alexis & Fido), Doble A & Nales, George Torres, Nely “El Arma Secreta”, Tiny, Mambo Kings y Tunes.
“Nadie como tú” es el primer sencillo, cuyo vídeo estuvo a cargo de Marlon Peña. El segundo corte será la bachata “Cuando se acaba el amor”, cuyas imágenes grabaron con el mismo director, pero en República Dominicana.
Los Yetzons abrirán el concierto de Arcángel que se llevará a cabo el 31 de octubre en San Pedro de Macorís.
Body Found In SUV Is Jennifer Hudson’s Nephew
The body of a 7-year-old boy found in an SUV on the South Side of Chicago Monday morning has been identified as Julian King - the nephew of Jennifer Hudson and son of her sister, Julia, Chicago police officials announced on Monday afternoon.
Access Hollywood’s Tony Potts, who is on the scene in Chicago, reported it was Jennifer who identified the boy’s body.
“She came in strong, very solemn,” a spokesperson for the Chicago Medical Examiner’s office told reporters. “Seven family members held hands and said a short prayer.”
Officials said Jennifer identified the body on a black-and-white TV screen in a room adjacent to where Julian’s body was held.
Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond said the boy, like his grandmother and uncle, had been shot. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.
In addition, William Balfour “remains a person of interest,” police added. However, “no suspects have been named.”
Julian was found inside Jason Hudson’s white SUV in the 1300 block of S. Kolin Avenue on Chicago’s South Side at around 8 AM on Monday.
Julian was discovered missing on Friday afternoon, as news broke that Jennifer’s mother, Darnell Donerson, and brother, Jason, had been shot and killed inside Donerson’s Chicago home.
Soon thereafter, an Amber Alert was issued for Julian and the FBI had been called in to assist in the search, according to reports.
At the time, authorities believed Julian might have been with his stepfather, William Balfour, who police were also seeking at the time. Authorities apprehended Balfour late Friday night, but the boy was not found with him.
On Sunday, Balfour was transferred to the Illinois Department of Corrections due to parole violations, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Balfour has reportedly been on parole since 2006, after serving almost seven years in jail for convictions on attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and receiving stolen property.
Balfour’s transfer is reportedly unrelated to the murders or kidnapping investigation, and no charges have been filed against him.
The Sun-Times reported that Balfour was believed to be near the Hudson residence on the South Side of Chicago, where he reportedly once resided as well, at about 9 AM on Friday - when the neighbors reported hearing gunfire.
His mother, Michele Davis Balfour, defended her son for the second day in a row on Sunday, telling the Sun-Times that she did not believe he was involved in the killings.
However, she reportedly noted the separation between Balfour and his wife, Julia Hudson, and she also said her son had spoken of divorce two weeks ago.
GM, Chrysler Ask for $10 Billion to Aid Merger
October 28, 2008 by Heist
Filed under Current News
General Motors and Cerberus Capital Management have asked the U.S. government for roughly $10 billion in an unprecedented rescue package to support a merger between GM and Chrysler, two sources with direct knowledge of the talks said on Monday.
The government funding would include roughly $3 billion in exchange for preferred stock in the merged automaker, according to one of the sources, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The U.S. Treasury Department is considering a request for direct aid to facilitate the merger and a decision could come this week, sources familiar with the still-developing government response said earlier on Monday.
An injection of $3 billion in equity to support a GM acquisition of Chrysler would be roughly equivalent to the current, depressed value of the top U.S. automaker.
It would also give U.S. taxpayers a large stake in the turnaround of a struggling auto industry that employs over 350,000 American workers and is credited with supporting employment for another 4.5 million in related fields.
Analysts see GM [GM 5.45 -0.50 (-8.4%) ], Chrysler and rival Ford Motor [F 2.03 0.02 (+1%) ] having been driven to the brink of failure by a combination of management missteps, slowing global growth and problems in credit markets.
In addition to its equity stake, the U.S. government is also being asked to provide support for the GM-Chrysler merger by taking over some $3 billion in pension obligations under the terms of a proposal now before the government for review, the first source said.
The final component of the proposed support package would be a credit line that could include U.S. government purchases of commercial paper issued by GM to relieve short-term pressure on liquidity, the person said.
A combined GM-Chrysler would control roughly a third of the U.S. auto market by sales and would face immediate pressure to cut costs stemming from excess capacity in almost every facet of its business. Those would include a stable of 11 brands, roughly 10,000 dealers and some 97,000 union-represented factory workers, analysts have said.
But one of the conditions of the merger would be that GM-Chrysler would spare as many jobs as possible in order to win broad political support for the government funding needed to complete the deal, people familiar with the merger discussions said.
GM could not be immediately reached for comment. Cerberus and Chrysler had no comment.
The roughly $10 billion to support the GM merger with Chrysler would be in addition to whatever funds would be allocated to the automaker under an already approved $25 billion program to provide low-interest loans to the industry for retooling to make more fuel-efficient cars.
Copyright 2008 Reuters.