US nears car rescue; China, Europe mull stimulus

(Agencies/chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-12-09 07:09

A draft Democratic plan called for the appointment of at least one car czar to oversee the rescue plan and it set terms for a 7-year loan.

European carmakers focused on consolidation, with Italy's Fiat saying it is too small to survive on its own and Sweden reportedly considering a rescue package for Ford-owned Volvo and General Motors-owned Saab.

The US talks gained urgency after Friday's US employment data showed more than half a million jobs were lost in November.

Dow Chemical Co said on Monday it will cut 5,000 jobs, divest businesses and close plants less than a week after US rival DuPont announced its own cutbacks.

The corporate world was also rocked when the Tribune Co -- the privately held publisher of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times -- filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, exposing unsecured creditors including subsidiaries of JP Morgan Chase and Merrill Lynch.

Price is Right?

With the Dow industrials down more than 30 percent this year, some investors were choosing the present to begin a long-term equities strategy.

A trader raises his hand to bid on stock prices as he works on the main trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange early in the trading session, December 8, 2008. [Agencies]

The Dow gained 3.5 percent on Monday, briefly trading above 9,000 points, and the S&P 500 closed 3.8 percent higher. European shares gained 6.9 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225, 5.2 percent.

One of the largest US money managers on Monday said US stocks have broken their downtrend and will trade in a narrow range for as long as four months.

But Robert Doll, the global chief investment officer of equities at BlackRock Inc, also told the Reuters Investment Outlook Summit that financial shares will likely underperform for possibly years to come.

Another summit speaker, legendary hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt, said, "I think now would be a good cyclical time to go into equities, wouldn't you?"

He said that while he didn't think the markets had yet hit bottom, "it wouldn't shock me if it were the bottom."

EU Summit

A European Union summit in Brussels on December 11-12 will study European Commission proposals to give the sagging economy a sharp boost with a 200 billion euro ($250 billion) spending plan.

The European Central Bank cut rates by a record 75 basis points to 2.5 percent last Thursday and economists expect another reduction in January.

The US Federal Reserve has less room to maneuver as its Open Market Committee has trimmed its benchmark lending rate to 1 percent and market players anticipate a reduction to 0.5 percent or even 0.25 percent at the December 15-16 policy meeting.

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