Obama Fully Invested as CEO-in-Chief

A 'prepackaged' plan likely would include government financing, take less time

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama’s transition team is looking at a streamlined, “prepackaged” bankruptcy for the Big Three automakers, Bloomberg reports. In a “prepack,” the companies already would have financing lined up when they go to court, and would have to reach agreements with banks, workers, and suppliers. The government likely would provide financing, but it “limits government financial commitment,” one lawyer said. More»

Hearings 'more hostile than expected,' says Wagoner

(NEWSER) - Two grueling days of congressional hearings on a bailout for the auto industry were "hostile" and the wait for an answer is "nerve-wracking," General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner told the Detroit News yesterday. GM is ready now to show Congress detailed restructuring plans to convince lawmakers to hand over billions in aid. Legislators are requiring plans from each of the Big Three automakers before they'll agree to a rescue package. More»

'We’re going to have to do big, serious things,' staff chief tells council

(NEWSER) - Rahm Emanuel has avoided the spotlight since accepting the White House chief of staff job, but he was anything but shy last night at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council, challenging his high-powered audience to help on health care. “When it gets rough out there, a lot of business leaders get out of the car and say, ‘We’re OK with minor reform.’” he said. “We’re going to have to do big, serious things.” More»

Group of frontrunners will emerge, Former House Speaker predicts

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich predicts that Sarah Palin will not be the Republicans’ 2012 presidential nominee, the Hill reports. “I think that she is going to be a significant player,” the former speaker of the House told Face the Nation. “But she’s going to be one of 20 or 30 significant players.” In other talk shows:

• Arnold Schwarzenegger will do all he can to help President Barack Obama, but not as a Cabinet member, the Hill reports. “I am the first one to go and do everything that I can, as governor, and as a state, to support his administration,” he told This Week.
• Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty told Fox News Sunday that the GOP needs to adapt as voters move away from the right. “We have to be a conservative party. But we have to apply those principles in the context of a changing country,” he said.

Government trying to unwind stock without losing on the deal

(NEWSER) - The Treasury Department has had a tough time selling off some of the stock it took on in exchange for TARP bailout funds, meaning taxpayers are still on the hook for some $132.9 billion—some of which they may never get back, according to a report released today by the government watchdog overseeing the program. Selling the stock has been complicated by swingy stock market prices, and deep dips in some of the bailed out companies, the AP reports. More»