Auto sales posted another dismal December, capping a horrendous 2008. Should we be surprised? Of course not -- we have been talking about this for some time. Expensive vehicles and gas guzzlers were hit the most, as cost-sensitive consumers and tight credit markets rule the day.BMW sales were down 36% in December and 10% in 2008. The pillar of strength here is the Mini, believe it or not.Chrysler was down 53% in December and 30% in 2008. Most of the weakness can be traced to the 300, Wrangler, Grand Cherokee and Ram.Daimler (DAI) was down 24% in December and down 2% in 2008. The C-class, a terrific car we saw in San Diego a couple of days ago, is keeping this company afloat.Ford (F) was down 34% in December and down 22% in 2008. The weakness can be tied ...

We think it is an excellent time to hit the car lots. Sales are slow, inventories are high, raw materials (steel, chemicals, plastic, rubber) are depressed, and interest rates are near zero. Demand is off due to the credit crunch. Dealers and manufacturers are hurting and are hungry for business.

The following list is our list of favorites from the San Diego Car Show. This is our list of All Pros (some are Hall of Famers) from the half a thousand vehicles from around the planet on display there.

Despite the bad publicity recently, Chevrolet and Chrysler have some of the best products in the market. The non-Chevy part of General Motors (GM) must be restructured. Also, Honda (HMC) has emerged to be a Big-4 player in the US. They work and act more domestic than even Chrysler.

We were disappointed with Ford (F), Toyota (TM) and Nissan (

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This blog cites General Motors Corp. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F), Toyota Motors (TM), Honda Motor Co. (HMC), Daimler, Inc. (DAI), Nissan Motors (NSANY) and others.

Zacks senior auto industry analyst Paul Raman, CFA recently published his extensive notes on the San Diego Auto Show, and we pulled his positive stories to illustrate where -- if anywhere -- automakers might have demonstrated a workable starting point.

NISSANAltima - Sales are up 2%. Gas mileage is excellent, in the 23-24 MPG range. Prices range from $22-27K. The car has 55% US content and 21% Japanese content. Overall, the interior could use some improvement, and there appeared to be not enough leg room. There is a hybrid version that costs $30K and gets 34 MPG.Rogue - This is a hot-selling crossover that gets 25 MPG with 4/5 star safety and a $27K price tag. There is

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Dollar-Euro parity? Crude at $12 a barrel? 15% unemployment? J. Christoph Amberger presents the Today’s Financial News top predictions for 2009…

A month ago, I asked my colleagues at TFN to think about the year ahead… the events that will shape the year both politically and financially. In short, to come up with realistic “Predictions for 2009″. As history is fast-forwarding, some of these events have already taken place. Others look increasingly probable… and not half as far out as they appeared just a month ago.

Here they are, in no particular order

*** Dollar hits parity against euro by June 2009.

*** Oil bottoms at $12 per barrel by April 2009.

*** Gold falls to $500 as Indian economy crashes and Dubai abandons spending spree.

*** Russian troops wearing Gazprom uniforms invade Ukraine to “protect” natural gas pipeline. The Russian stock market collapses. Three European energy stocks soar. (Yes, there’s

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Congressional Democrats and the White House yesterday (Wednesday) finalized a short-term package that’ll supply General Motors Corp (GM), and Chrysler LLC with $14 billion in emergency loans.

The bill clearly falls short of the $34 billion the Big Three were asking for, but should be enough to keep the automakers running through January, when the new Congress and Obama administration take the wheel.

As previously reported in Money Morning, there will be limits on executive pay, prohibitions for golden parachutes and requirements that the automakers get rid of their corporate aircraft and not pay dividends while loans are outstanding. The bill also provides a “car czar,” or presidential appointee, to oversee keep tabs on the companies’ restructuring efforts.

Of course, the bill is still awaiting congressional approval and there is cause to believe it may stall in the Senate.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-AL,

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For Russia lately, when it rains it pours. Not only have plummeting oil prices destroyed the country’s economy, but virtually nobody paid attention to its semi-aggressive war games last month. Even worse, Putin swears he will not be running for president anytime soon. Ford, Volkswagen and Renault are cutting their Russian production. And now the country’s currency gets a public smack in the face.

There is no doubt, the country will be glad to see 2008 come to an end.

Out of all of the horrific economic events taking place in Russia these days, none is more intriguing than Standard & Poor’s move it made earlier today. The company cut Moscow’s debt rating to just two notches above the dreaded “junk” status.

Thanks to a huge outflow of cash from Russia’s once-monumental reserves, the country’s debt is starting to join the ranks of failing companies like Ford (NYSE:F) and General Motors

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FTSEurofirst 300 up 1.1 pct on the day, up 13 pct on week… Index lost 7 pct in Nov, ninth month of losses in 2008… Cyclicals hammered; defensive pharmas surge

European stocks ended higher on Friday, as buoyant pharmaceutical shares eclipsed a drop in cyclical mining and industrial sectors hit by renewed economic fears, while energy shares tumbled along with oil.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 1.1 percent higher at 862.07 points.

Although it gained 13 percent during the week, the index dropped 7 percent in November, recording a ninth month of losses in what has been a torrid 2008 for equities worldwide.

Pharma stocks made strong gains on Friday, with GlaxoSmithKline up 5.1 percent and Sanofi-Aventis up 4.5 percent. Novartis , whose CEO said the company could increase its dividend and also resume share buybacks

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German unemployment extended its decline in November, withstanding the worst recession in 12 years, as employers continue to retain and even recruit staff even as orders slump. The number of people out of work, adjusted for seasonal variations, dropped a further 10,000 in November to reach 3.15 million, following a 26,000 fall in October, according to data from the Federal Labor Agency out today (Thursday). The adjusted unemployment rate held at 7.5 percent, a 16- year low. br /br /br /a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ngczZkrw340/SS6dZ5gWymI/AAAAAAAALlE/9UbfR71hm14/s1600-h/germany+unemployed.png"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ngczZkrw340/SS6dZ5gWymI/AAAAAAAALlE/9UbfR71hm14/s320/germany+unemployed.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273325281956252258" //abr /br /The German labour market normally follow broader economic trends only with a time lag - sometimes of as much as nine months, according to research by the Cologne-based IW economic institute. Since Germany’s recession began in the second quarter we may well only see the unemployment numbers begin to respond at the start of ...

An Index of Top Rated Global Transport Companies The accompanying table includes the top 50 rated companies and statistics for the ETF Innovators (ETFI) Global Transportation PerformIdex, which is structured as an equally-weighted index with quarterly updates from a database of 225 companies included in the five indexes below to provide broader investment exposure compared to existing ETFs such as iShares Dow Transports (IYT) and PowerShares Global Progressive Transport (PTRP). 1.) ETFI Global Air Transport 2.) ETFI Global Personal Transport 3.) ETFI Global Maritime Transport 4.) ETFI Global Railroad Industry 5.) ETFI Global Trucking & Logistics The index is structured to include 15 companies each from railroads + trucking & logistics, 10 companies from air transport, and five companies each ...

American optimism at all-time low, 2009 recession imminent… Fannie and Freddie to the rescue? Chris Mayer with good news for oil investors. Another day, another double-digit decline… Russian market, currency plummeting. Pat Cox with a “huge” breakthrough medical tech about to become reality. Have we hit a nerve? The automaker debate rages on in The 5’s inbox

Oy. “The $700 billion financial bailout program,” the New York Times sums up Treasury Secretary Paulson’s speech this morning, “will not be used to buy troubled mortgage-backed assets, as originally intended. Instead, capital would be provided directly to nonbank companies, as well as banks and financial institutions, and that more would be done to prevent home foreclosures.”

Is it any wonder 83% of Americans think the U.S. is “headed in the wrong direction”?

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