For
generations,
General
Motors
fueled
America's
love
affair
with the
automobile,
building
cars
that
defined
their
owners'
status
in life
and the
industrial
might of
the
nation.
But less
than a
year
after
entering
its
second
century,
the
company
that
survived
wars,
international
rivalry
and even
the
Great
Depression
is being
driven
by the
government
into
bankruptcy
court.
The GM
that
helped
move the
world
from
horses
to
Chevys
and
Cadillacs
is
expected
to file
for
bankruptcy
protection
Monday.
The new
GM that
emerges
sometime
in the
future
will be
leaner —
unsaddled
from
much of
its debt
and
labor
cost
disadvantages
that
contributed
to tens
of
billions
of
dollars
of
losses.
It will
also be
almost
three-quarters
owned by
U.S.
taxpayers.
More
U.S.
Department
of Labor
releases
additional
nearly
$50
million
to
Michigan
for
Trade
Adjustment
Assistance ROMULUS,
Mich. –
While in
Romulus
today
touring
the
General
Motors
Romulus
Engine
Plant,
Secretary
of Labor
Hilda L.
Solis
announced
that the
U.S.
Department
of Labor
is
releasing
an
additional
$49.9
million
to the
state of
Michigan
to
provide
career
training
and
employment
and case
management
services
to
workers
whose
jobs are
impacted
for
trade-related
reasons,
as well
as for
associated
administrative
costs.
Combined
with the
original
fiscal
year
2009
allocations,
Michigan
now has
nearly
$60
million
available
to
assist
trade-affected
workers.
“This
distribution
will
assist
the
state of
Michigan
in
providing
needed
career
services
to
workers
who are
impacted
by
foreign
trade,”
said
Secretary
Solis.
“Today
the
department
reaffirms
its
commitment
to these
workers
and
their
long-term
career
success.” More
Achieving
Financial
Independence
in an
Economic
Downturn
By
Deshawn
Johnson/
Tell Us
USA News
Network What
is the
one
thing
that the
majority
of
wealthy
people
have in
common?
No, it’s
not real
estate
although
that is
a
must-have
in any
investment
portfolio.
Guess
again.
OK, it’s
business
ownership.
Yep, I
said it.
Start a
business,
if you
want to
attain
financial
independence
or any
level of
wealth.
The fact
is,
entrepreneurship
is the
path to
the,
Pursuit
of
Happiness,
the
American
Dream.
The
Big IDEA
I
encourage
you to
follow
your
passion
or
define
your
purpose
when
coming
up with
your Big
IDEA.
The word
IDEA is
used
here as
an
acronym
which
stands
for
Identify;
Desire;
Empower
and Act.
Identify
your
gifts;
have a
burning
Desire
to
succeed;
Empower
others;
and Act
now. The
first
step is
to
identify
your
gift and
turn it
into a
product
or
service.
Have an
unwavering
commitment
with a
burning
desire
is the
next
step to
bring
your Big
IDEA to
life.
The
third
step is
to
empower
others
by
providing
an
innovative
service
that
meets
their
needs.
The
final
step is
to act
when
inspired
with an
idea,
“Just Do
It” as
Nike
says. More
New
Saturn
boss
Penske
has
track
record
of
success
Roger
Penske
never
made it
big as a
race car
driver.
As a
businessman,
however,
he
regularly
leaves
the
competition
in the
dust.
Referred
to in
racing
circles
as "The
Captain,"
Penske
is the
most
successful
team
owner in
Indy car
racing
history
and his
automotive
empire
includes
hundreds
of car
dealership
franchises,
a truck
leasing
business
and a
successful
NASCAR
team.
Now the
72-year-old
Penske
is
taking
on
perhaps
the
biggest
challenge
of his
career:
turning
around
the
Saturn
passenger
car
brand
after
reaching
a
tentative
agreement
to buy
it from
General
Motors.
Given
Penske's
competitive
streak
and
record
of
success,
people
who have
worked
with him
and
raced
against
him
expect
he'll
pull it
off. More
GM
SHOULD
BE
RUNNING
THE FEDS
Not The
Other
Way
Around
Editorial
By Randi
Payton
President
& CEO/On
Wheels
Media The
GM Press
conference
with
reporters
on
Monday
reflects
the
limited
view the
media
and the
administration
have
regarding
the
enormity
of the
social
role
General
Motors,
Chrysler
and Ford
play in
our
lives.
They
have
primarily
focused
on the
numbers,
leaving
out the
social
leadership
activities
of the
Detroit
automakers.
They
complain
vigorously
when
major
industries
demonstrate
their
only
mission
is to
profit
from and
not give
back to
the
community,
but
ignore
the
corporations
that
have
taken on
decades
of
social
leadership.
What
about
the tens
of
thousands
of
charitable
causes,
businesses,
educational,
and
community
activities
where
the Big
Three
have
been
leading
corporate
role
models?
In many
cases
they
have set
the
example
for
other
corporations
as well
as the
federal
government. More
U.S.
COMMERCE
SECRETARY
GARY
LOCKE
ANNOUNCES
ADMINISTRATION’S
NEW
INITIATIVE
TO AID
AMERICAN
BUSINESSES DETROIT,
MI –
U.S.
Commerce
Secretary
Gary
Locke
today
announced
a new
Obama
Administration
initiative
designed
to
streamline
government
bureaucracy
and
bring
services
and
solutions
directly
to
businesses
and
entrepreneurs
creating
and
sustaining
jobs.
Locke
made his
announcement
at the
Detroit
Economic
Club’s
National
Summit.
The new
initiative
will be
launched
this
summer
in the
Detroit
area.
Responding
both to
President
Obama’s
call to
make
government
more
responsive
and a
once-in-a-generation
economic
crisis,
Locke
initiated
the
effort
after
seeing
how
complicated
it can
be to
navigate
the
alphabet
soup of
Commerce
agencies
and
programs.
In the
coming
weeks,
the
department
will
dispatch
a team
of
Commerce
experts
to begin
preparing
the
launch
of the
initiative.
The team
will
consist
of
representatives
who have
been
cross
trained
on the
wide
breadth
of
programs
and
activities
that the
Commerce
Department
and its
bureaus
have to
offer,
programs
that can
assist a
business
at
nearly
every
point of
its life
cycle,
whether
just
getting
off the
ground
or
looking
to
expand
into
overseas
markets..
More
UAW
membership
approve
General
Motors
concessions
The
United
Auto
Workers
union
has
ratified
a
package
of
concessions
designed
to
reduce
General
Motors
Corp.'s
labor
costs.
UAW
President
Ron
Gettelfinger
said at
a news
conference
Friday
that 74
percent
of GM's
54,000
U.S.
production
and
skilled-trade
workers
voted in
favor of
the
deal.
The vote
comes
before
an
expected
Chapter
11
bankruptcy
protection
filing
by GM on
Monday.
Bankruptcy
experts
say
having
the
labor
agreement
in place
will
help
move the
process
through
court
more
quickly.
The UAW
says the
cuts
will
save GM
$1.2
billion
to $1.3
billion
a year.
More
Anne
Mulcahy
to
Retire
as Xerox
CEO;
Ursula
Burns
Named
Successor
NORWALK,
Conn.,
(BUSINESS
WIRE) --
Xerox
Corporation's
[XRX]
board of
directors
announced
today
that
Anne M.
Mulcahy,
chairman
and
chief
executive
officer,
will
retire
as CEO
effective
July 1.
Ursula
M.
Burns,
current
president
of the
company,
was
named by
the
board to
succeed
Mulcahy
as chief
executive
officer.
Mulcahy
will
remain
as
chairman
of the
board.
"Ursula
takes on
the
leadership
role the
old-fashioned
way,"
added
Mulcahy.
"She has
earned
it. And,
for
that,
she has
my deep
respect
and
confidence."
More
Minority
Car
Dealers
On the
Verge of
Extinction
Can
minority
auto
dealers
nationwide
survive
as U.S.
carmakers
struggle
to
remain
solvent
through
bankruptcy
and
economic
recession?
With the
announced
bankruptcy
of
Chrysler,
80% of
their
minority
dealer
network
is at
risk of
going
under
says
Desmond
Roberts,
Chairman,
National
Assoc of
Minority
Automobile
Dealers
(NAMAD).
And with
the
elimination
of
Pontiac,
Saturn
and
Hummer,
approximately
58% of
General
Motors
dealers
overall
are
facing
closure.
Minority
dealers
from as
far away
as
Florida,
gathered
Monday
at
Little
Rock
Baptist
Church
in
Detroit
to
caucus
with
civil
rights
leader
Jesse
Jackson
who held
a press
conference
to
discuss
the
disproportionate
impact
of the
economic
downtown
on
minority
auto
industry
suppliers
and
dealers.
More
Detroit
pension
funds
spend
$380K on
travel DETROIT
--
Trustees
and
others
who work
for
Detroit's
two
municipal
pension
funds
have
spent
$380,000
on
publicly
funded
travel
in the
past
year, a
newspaper
reported
Sunday.
The
Detroit
Free
Press it
sued to
get
travel
records
and says
officials
continue
to
withhold
many
records.
General
Retirement
System
Trustee
Sheila
Kneeshaw
spent
$34,000
over 50
nights
traveling
to
events
in
locations
that
include
Edinburgh,
Scotland;
San
Diego;
and
Scottsdale,
Ariz.,
the
records
show.
More
