Federal Bailout

Is General Motors Co. losing $49,000 on every Chevrolet Volt electric car it sells? If so, it could be bad news for taxpayers who helped bail out GM and now own a third of an automaker that has seen its shares plunge 30% since it went public in 2010. It could also highlight how much of a political lightning rod GM and the Volt have become since the automaker's federal bailout in 2009 and as the presidential election approaches, analysts said. "The Volt as a brand has become politicized," said Jeremy Anwyl, vice chairman of auto information company Edmunds.com.

In a presidential debate over foreign policy, one of the most contentious exchanges between President Obama and Mitt Romney, surprisingly, was over Detroit. “You know, if we had taken your advice, Gov. Romney, about our auto industry, we'd be buying cars from China instead of selling cars to China,” Obama said. Obama was touting his role in the bailout of General Motors and Chrysler, which began under the Bush administration in late 2008. In a New York Times opinion article in November 2008, Romney urged the government, as the headline said, to: “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” “A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs,” Romney wrote.

It appears that the federal bailout of Lincoln Savings is going to cost us taxpayers in excess of $2 billion. The same news indicates that Lincoln Savings contributed in excess of $900,000 to the campaign accounts of Cranston. The quorum of five senators, including Cranston, that intervened with the federal regulators prolonged the time before exposure of the problems at Lincoln Savings. During this extended operation period, many additional people lost money through the organization.

Is General Motors Co. losing $49,000 on every Chevrolet Volt electric car it sells? If so, it could be bad news for taxpayers who helped bail out GM and now own a third of an automaker that has seen its shares plunge 30% since it went public in 2010. It could also highlight how much of a political lightning rod GM and the Volt have become since the automaker's federal bailout in 2009 and as the presidential election approaches, analysts said. "The Volt as a brand has become politicized," said Jeremy Anwyl, vice chairman of auto information company Edmunds.com.

Re "Mortgage plan may cut costs for 395,000," Oct. 24 Rampant foreclosures have dropped the median home price in the Southland by 39% from its peak last year, and yet The Times reported that only 15% of L.A. residents could afford the median home price in the second quarter of this year. This can only mean that housing prices are still overinflated. Continued foreclosures are the necessary, and sole, corrective measure to this market -- not the windfall "Hope for Homeowners" program created as part of the federal bailout.

Is General Motors losing $49,000 on every Chevrolet Volt electric car it sells? If so, it could be bad news for taxpayers who helped bail out GM and now own a third of an automaker that has seen its shares plunge 30% since it went public in 2010. A Reuters report Monday said GM's plug-in hybrid was a big money-loser.   GM, though, disputed the contention, saying Reuters' research "is grossly wrong" and accusing the news agency of bad math. The automaker said the news agency incorrectly "allocated product development costs across the number of Volts sold instead of allocating across the lifetime volume of the program, which is how business operates.” The debate over the cost of the Volt is highlighting how much of a lightning rod GM -- and the Volt -- have become since the automaker's federal bailout in 2009 and as the presidential election approaches, analysts said.

Regarding the consumer column "Double standard for two bailouts?" (Dec. 7): It is inequitable that union auto workers have to give pay concessions in order that the Big Three firms receive a federal bailout, while nonunion workers at financial firms do not. That is only half the story. The problem facing ailing financial firms involves a reduced value of their mortgage-related assets. A one-shot infusion of federal money fixes their balance sheets. They don't have a labor cost problem.

Wall Street executives aren't famous for their humility, but they reached a new level of tone-deaf hubris in their recovery from the collapse of 2008. A number of top banks and investment firms have racked up outsized profits in recent months, sending their bonus checks through the roof. Goldman Sachs, for example, set aside $16.7 billion billion for employee compensation -- and that's just for the first nine months of 2009. This despite the fact that many of the same companies were in danger of going under just a year and a half ago, only to be rescued by federal bailout dollars and extraordinarily generous credit terms from the Federal Reserve.

The seizure of the St. Regis Monarch Beach, where American International Group Inc. sponsored a luxury retreat just days after accepting a federal bailout, is the most dramatic sign yet of the deep troubles in the market for high-end hotels. Citigroup Inc. took over the Dana Point hotel and golf course Monday after months of negotiations over a $70-million loan that was in default.

Ailing First RepublicBank Corp., a major bank holding company that recently received a $1-billion federal bailout, said it expects a significant first-quarter loss. The Dallas-based company also reported Wednesday in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it may default on about $33 million in long-term debts, a move which could prompt creditors to demand immediate repayment.

Is General Motors losing $49,000 on every Chevrolet Volt electric car it sells? If so, it could be bad news for taxpayers who helped bail out GM and now own a third of an automaker that has seen its shares plunge 30% since it went public in 2010. A Reuters report Monday said GM's plug-in hybrid was a big money-loser.   GM, though, disputed the contention, saying Reuters' research "is grossly wrong" and accusing the news agency of bad math. The automaker said the news agency incorrectly "allocated product development costs across the number of Volts sold instead of allocating across the lifetime volume of the program, which is how business operates.” The debate over the cost of the Volt is highlighting how much of a lightning rod GM -- and the Volt -- have become since the automaker's federal bailout in 2009 and as the presidential election approaches, analysts said.

WASHINGTON — Buoyed by rising home prices, Fannie Mae reported a second-quarter profit of $5.1 billion and said that for the second straight quarter it did not need more federal bailout money for that period. The improving real estate market was the main driver of one of the most profitable quarters ever by Fannie, the huge housing finance company seized by the government in 2008 along with sister firm Freddie Mac as the collapse of the housing market pushed them near bankruptcy.

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration expects to recoup all the bailout money spent on banking and insurance firms, auto companies, mortgage finance companies and struggling homeowners during and after the 2008 financial crisis -- and likely turn a profit. By 2022, the bailouts are expected to produce a profit for taxpayers - as much as $163 billion in a best-case scenario. That's a stark turnaround from predictions of hundreds of billions of dollars in losses in the immediate aftermath of the unprecedented interventions.

Through the depths of the recession, major Wall Street banks and other financial institutions spent nearly $70 million in California to try to defeat or water down California legislation aimed at slowing real estate foreclosures. The money, spent on lobbying fees and political contributions, came from 2007 to 2010 — at the same time the banks were getting billions of dollars in federal taxpayer bailouts to keep them from collapsing. A report commissioned by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment criticized the banks and mortgage lenders for spending the money in the political arena rather than working harder to keep people in their homes.

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner says the government "remains optimistic that taxpayers will get back every dollar of their investment in AIG. " Bailed-out insurance giant American International Group Inc. moved closer to repaying the government for its rescue by completing a stock-conversion deal with the Treasury Department on Friday ? a key to unwinding the federal stake in the company. Treasury converted the preferred shares in AIG it received as part of the complex bailout into 1.655 billion shares of common stock, increasing the government's ownership stake to 92% from 80%. The department plans to sell the shares over time to recoup its investment, now estimated at $68 billion, and end taxpayer support of the company.

In a series of moves that pave the way for an IPO and strengthen its finances, General Motors Co. on Thursday said it would repay $2.1 billion to U.S. taxpayers and make early payments to pension funds and retiree-health plans. The announcement comes just days before bankers are expected to begin a road show for potential investors in an initial public offering that would allow the U.S. government to start to reduce its stake in the top U.S. automaker. GM said that after its IPO it would contribute at least $4 billion cash and $2 billion of common stock to U.S. hourly and salaried pensions and buy back the preferred shares at a 2% premium.

Hawaii has suffered one of the worst winters for tourism in recent years and has appealed to the state's most famous native son -- President Obama -- to help turn its fortunes around. Hotel occupancy rates in the winter were the lowest in at least five years, and in February -- traditionally the state's busiest month -- the rate dropped to 75%. That was the lowest level since 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, when it fell to 69.7%, according to Smith Travel Research.

The massive federal bailout of the savings and loan industry foundered Thursday night as the Senate rejected the House-approved procedure for financing the rescue plan, but House and Senate negotiators quickly patched together a new compromise that they hope will win congressional approval today. The Bush Administration, which had threatened to veto the earlier version of the bill, endorsed the new plan. "In the spirit of compromise, we accept," Treasury Secretary Nicholas F.

President Obama, sidestepping a possibly heated confirmation battle, will appoint Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren as a special advisor to the Treasury Department to launch the government's powerful new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to two Democratic officials familiar with the decision. Warren could still be nominated as the director, but the Treasury appointment will allow her to shape the formation of the agency in the coming months, a top priority of Obama, without waiting for Senate approval, the officials said late Wednesday.

St. Regis Monarch Beach, the posh Orange County resort tarred in a public backlash to corporate travel spending, has a new owner after a transaction that values the property at about $235 million. Seattle real estate investment company Washington Holdings said Tuesday that it had taken control of the five-star resort and golf course in Dana Point. The venue gained notoriety in 2008 when American International Group Inc. sponsored a luxury retreat there just days after accepting a federal bailout.