Highlighted companies include Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE),VeraSun Energy (VSUNQ), Valero Energy (VLO), Aventine Renewable Energy (AVRNQ) and Pacific Ethanol (PEIX).Consolidation in the Ethanol IndustryFollowing a period of optimism in the burgeoning ethanol industry and renewed interest in clean, green renewable energy and energy independence in the U.S., the rapid introduction of new ethanol plants is expected to continue its current phase of bankruptcies and consolidation.So far in 2009, ten ethanol production plants filed bankruptcy, including those operated by Aventine Renewable Energy (AVRNQ) and Pacific Ethanol (PEIX).The failures of the ethanol business model were primarily caused by the combination of high corn prices and declining prices of oil and gasoline.In early 2009, Valero (VLO), the crude oil refining and marketing company, purchased seven VeraSun plants in an all-cash $477 million deal....

Highlighted here is General Motors Corp. (GM). The minutes of the Fed meeting of late April were released. They show that the staff economists there had cut their economic outlooks relative to January, but are still relatively upbeat. If the three most optimistic and the three most pessimistic forecasts are excluded (what the Fed terms the Central Tendency), then the range of GDP growth forecasts for 2009 is from -2.0% to -1.3%. This marks a significant downgrade from January, when the central tendency forecasts ranged from -1.5% to -0.5%. Considering that in the first quarter the economy fell at an annualized rate of 6.1%, even the pessimistic end of the forecasts implies that we will have a near-term recovery. Down at an 6.1% rate means that the economy has already contracted by 1.5% this year, so we would ...