It's over Gaar Microsoft, Schering-Plough See `Entire Economy' in Jeopardy
By Dina Bass and Shannon Pettypiece Enlarge Image/Details Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Officials from Microsoft Corp. to Office Depot Inc. and Schering-Plough Corp. said the government's failure to bail out the U.S. banking industry put the ``entire economy'' at risk unless a deal comes soon. ``The various sectors of the economy are so intricately linked, we need to recognize that the entire economy turns on what happens here,'' Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith said in an interview after the House of Representatives voted 228 to 205 yesterday against giving Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson the authority to buy troubled assets from financial companies. ``It is a pity that this has developed into such a mess,'' said Fred Hassan, chief executive officer of drugmaker Schering- Plough in Kenilworth, New Jersey. ``The probability of recession has gone up.'' Disbelief General Electric Co., with businesses that span real estate, consumer finance, aerospace, energy equipment, media and health care, has talked with leaders in the House to express support for the bill, a person familiar with GE's efforts said. Business officials expected the bill to pass, even with government leaders predicting a tight vote. That's why companies didn't speak up sooner about how important the legislation was, Microsoft's Smith said. ``I absolutely cannot believe it,'' said David Cosper, chief financial officer of Sonic Automotive Inc., the third- largest U.S. publicly traded auto retailer. ``I don't think the House knows what they're doing. We need this, the markets are frozen, banks are being taken over -- it's a crisis. I think they're leaving it in the lurch and going on a break.'' http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a0h7E2HwQpUk&refer=home Bank Writeoffs May Triple as Bond Spreads Fall on TARP (Update2) By Jody Shenn and Caroline Salas Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Treasury's $700 billion plan to rescue the nation's banks from the subprime mortgage debacle may help bonds rebound from losses of at least 90 percent while contributing to writedowns at financial institutions. The Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, signed into law by President George W. Bush Oct. 3, allows banks to sell toxic assets above current prices, driving down yields on some bonds relative to benchmarks, said Eugene Flood, chief executive officer at Smith Breeden Associates Inc., which manages $27 billion in fixed-income assets. Spreads may retrace a quarter of their widening since the credit crisis began, Flood said. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a3sQgEZQHX6w&refer=home On Oct 7, 6:41 am, Gaar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Oct 6, 11:54 am, "\"Lone Wolf\"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Big Companies such as Microsoft and GE have said before the bailout > > was approved that they risk insolvency if a credit crunch sets in, > > there will be no money to buy back shares. > > WTF? > > You haven't a CLUE do you!?!?!?!?!? > > Do you even understand how much CASH MSFT has on Hand? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
