November saw the sales of cars manufactured in North America drop to 236,000 units. That's 17% below October (which was already horrible) and 40% below the number sold in November of 2007.brimg alt= style=width: 480px; src=http://local.content.compendiumblog.com/uploads/user/7e88b461-578b-47f3-88ec-038e212ad053/aa0ff38d-9bb9-44a5-bba5-8be30d8f6977/dom_cars_dec_08.gifbrSource: a style=font-family: verdana; href=http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2008/12/the_auto_downtu.htmlEconbrowser/a.brbrMeanwhile, a style=font-family: verdana; class=summheadline href=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103sid=aDvTwqi_v3J8amp;refer=newsGM and Chrysler are seeking $11 billion to avert collapse this year. /aIn short, they are simply running out of cash. Democrats pledged to keep them out of bankruptcy without saying how. brbrAnd a style=font-family: verdana; href=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/automakers-post-steep-sales-declines/story.aspx?guid=681021CC-8778-40C2-AC80-822D0321CB9Eamp;dist=SecEditorsPicksMarketwatch tells us/a that Ford, Lincoln and Mercury combined car sales fell 31.5%, GM took an even harder hit with its 41.3% drop, Volvo sales tumbled 46.5% (ouch!) and Hummer sales dropped the most, downa stunning 63.9%.brbrToyota, Nissan and Honda had less-bad news, but each saw sales drop by more than 31%.brbrCars are piling up on the lots. If you think they're cheap now, just wait until the after-Christmas sales. But we may be approaching the point where ...

The half-trillion-dollar stimulus package that China unveiled on Sunday underscores that country’s growing importance to the global economy and shows Beijing’s willingness to assume a leadership role in the battle to blunt a widening worldwide financial crisis, a top expert on China said yesterday (Monday).

“China understands that it’s gaining importance in the world economy and that it’s going to participate in that process,” said Keith Fitz-Gerald, Money Morning’s investment director and a former professional trade advisor who’s spent more than two decades focusing on investment opportunities in China, Japan and the rest of the Asia region.

“Many experts will see this as just a ‘bailout’ that’s directed at Chinese infrastructure projects, Chinese technology companies and at holding the global financial crisis at bay” Fitz-Gerald said. “But the real message here is that Beijing is going to pull out all the stops to ensure that its economy does not

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China’s economic growth rate slipped into single digits in the third quarter for the first time in at least four years under the impact of the global credit crisis and weakness in the domestic property sector. Annual gross domestic product growth slowed more sharply than expected to 9.0 per cent from 10.1 per cent in the second quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday. It was not immediately possible to pinpoint when growth was last weaker because China does not publish new quarterly data when it revises its annual GDP figures. nor was it possible to precisely calibrate the speed of the slowdown since we do not have seasonally adjusted quarter on quarter data. China's economic expansion was the weakest since at least the second quarter of 2003, when growth slumped because of the severe acute respiratory syndrome, ...

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- China's financial system is safe amid a deepening global crisis and the world's fourth-biggest economy may be able to maintain fast growth, Premier Wen Jiabao said.Wen said he had full confidence in China's economic development and stability, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The financial system is sound and safe, he said.Governments in Europe are racing to shore up faltering financial institutions and the U.S. is enacting a $700 billion rescue package as the credit crisis deepens, increasing the risk of a world recession. China can best aid the global economy by maintaining lasting, smooth and fast economic development, the premier said.China has escaped the worst of about $590 billion of global losses from securities tied to U.S. home loans, Bloomberg data shows. The Asian share of the total is $24.5 billion.

“China starts emergency response over tainted milk powder incident” is how Xinhua news agency today headlines the poisoning of young children by contaminated dairy products.

I had an amazing time at the Beijing Olympics, and even though I didn't have tickets for the closing ceremony, I did watch it on TV and was again blown away by the scale, precision, and choreography of the Chinese. The two-hour show, which included one of the largest firework displays I've ever seen, a cast of thousands of costumed performers, acrobats, stunt men on springs and cheerleaders was a breathtaking spectacle that I will remember for many, many years. And I was even more astonished by the superhuman feats of athletes like Michael Phelps' eight gold medal performances and Usain Bolt's trio of world records. You'd have a hard time finding anybody who wasn't blown away by the Beijing Olympics and the job of the Chinese organizers. But as exciting as the ...