“Diesel is a dark horse”

Several automakers announced recently that they will start production on a new cleaner running, yet still highly efficient hybrid diesel motor.

 Defying diesel’s lingering reputation as a smelly, smoky alternative to gasoline, a new generation of “clean” diesel cars is rolling into U.S. showrooms—at least a dozen are planned in the next two years. Typically selling for less than hybrids, the diesels offer a nearly paradoxical combination of high mileage and punchy performance that is likely to surprise car buyers.   

The automakers are typically looking to push out the production of larger vehicles such as trucks and SUVs, as they feel that the improved gas mileage will yield steeper price premiums. This is a step in the right direction as many of us are facing outrageous prices at the pump. Its nice to see that many automakers are making adjustments to the current “oil problem”, that the government seems to have failed to make.

Wake up, Recession.

March 11th yielded the nations largest one day gain in the stock market in more than five years as the Dow Jones industrial average rising by more than 400 points.

 Look out, though. Fed officials are the first to acknowledge that their initiative attacks only one problem, the liquidity squeeze at big banks. It does nothing about the central risk to the U.S. economy: an unprecedented crash in home values that is sapping households’ wealth and confidence while putting an enormous strain on the banking system.   

 

Right now most economists expect the U.S. to experience a mild, short recession in 2008. But there is at least a possibility of a steeper decline that the traditional recession remedies—interest-rate cuts here, deficit spending there—won’t be able to handle.

Many consumers are rightfully concerned that a tragic incident could possibly occur such as the stock market crash in the late twenties. Although the level of the current recession is not expected to reach that altitude, it is most certainly a possibility. The United States government and the Federal Reserve need to continue to work on providing insurance policies to ensure the support of fellow Americans. Failure to do so could result in a potential downward spiraling effect on the U.S. economy and the government as a whole. 

The Money Machine

     Currently Senator Hillary Clinton is trailing Senator Barack Obama in the political campaign for the Democratic nominee for president. Obama’s campaign has figured out how to more successfully raise money, But Senator Clinton is starting to figure out the ropes very fast. At one point Clinton’s campaign did not have the sufficent funds to continue the process, so in an act of desperation, Clinton pulled $5 million from her personal funds to keep the process afloat. Many agree that this was a sign of fate for the Senator from New York. After that fundraising picked up dramatically, especially online. Senator Obama has successfully used the internet as a major contributor to the financial success of his fundraising. Clinton at her last campaign speech in Columbus, Ohio put an emphasis on her website, instead of thanking the large contributors as she normally does. This proved to be successful as Clinton raised $3 million dollars over the next 24 hours.

     It shows how committed Senator Clinton is to her supporters and her political campaign for president as she took out a significant amount of money out of her personal funds to maintain her nomination status for 2008. This also shows the increased importance of the Internet as a fundraising utility. It seems as though the Internet plays a more and more important role in each of the progressing campaigns.

Killer bank fees!

Being a college student, I often times find it hard to manage my bank account along with the heavy load of college classes and maintaining a part-time job. Banks are feasting on young students and also many other citizens who also have this problem. A study has shown that banks are making it nearly impossible for consumers to gain insight regarding the various fees associated with checking accounts and savings accounts. Overdraft fees have risen more than 11% since 2000, as banks are trying to make up for current losses due to declines in the economy such as the one we are experiencing presently. A study was conducted that showed that more than 1/5 of the 150 different financial institutions made it nearly impossible to gain terms of service and account information.

You don’t have to buy a car before you find out how many miles per gallon it gets, and you don’t have to buy a house before you find out what your taxes will be. Why should consumers be forced to walk blindly into the terms and conditions of a bank account?

The various fees have accounted for more than $36 billion which is up from $24.4 billion in 2000. Banks have also been shown to have be raising ATM withdrawal  fees for pulling out money by non-account holders. Legislation needs to be passed to make the everyday consumer well aware of the various fees and terms of use provided by the different financial institutions.

 

Dollar hits new low

For the past few years, Americans as well as the rest of the world have slowly watched the downward spiraling decline in value of the U.S. dollar. Last night the American dollar hit an all time low against the Euro. The Euro closed out at $1.50 to the $1 of the U.S.. Although this seems like it is all good for the countries participating with the euro, it may not be. The rapid growth in value could actually prove to hurt business and maintaining an equilibrium.

In France the concern is more palpable, with politicians calling for the European Central Bank to intervene to put the brakes on the euro’s surge. Budget minister Eric Woerth this week called the “very high” euro “a handicap for our exports.

 This high value of the Euro will give more purchasing power to the participating countries, and therefore they will most likely import more than they export because their money is worth more, and the cost of exporting would be too high for other countries to afford. The Euro was not the only  value of money that the U.S. fell to, it also recorded record low value against the Japanese Yen. The government and economists of the United States need to figure out some solutions, because businesses such as automakers are already downsizing and trying to move their operations elsewhere, where it is not so costly to produce.