STALLING AUTOS - AT 7:34 A.M. ET:  Although The One is now spouting the line that things aren't as bad as they seem - see our first posting today, at 7:13 a.m. - folks in the auto industry may not see it that way.  From the Detroit Free Press:

North America’s automotive parts supply base faces an imminent collapse over the next 30 to 90 days unless the federal government provides at least $10 billion in immediate funding, Grant Thornton LLP partner Laura Marcero said today.

If suppliers go out of business, automotive assembly plants could be forced to shut down, bringing the industry to a halt, Marcero said.

“Washington has been focused on the crisis with GM and Chrysler, but …we have an immediate supply base issue that really pre-empts what is going to happen with GM and Chrysler,” Marcero said following a speech to the Automotive Press Association in Detroit.

COMMENT:  Do they know about this in Washington?  If the industry is shut down, does that mean things are as bad as they seem, or is it just more disinformation from Rush Limbaugh?  Inquiring minds want to know.

March 13, 2009