Jobs data coming out this morning

Forecasts are all over the place with the consensus estimate being 340,000 lost jobs though one forecaster predicts the number to be closer to 425,000. As unpopular as the Big Auto bailout may be, this can get much worse quickly without something being done. The fallout from failure in the auto industry could impact millions at a time when the US is already struggling.

What disturbs me most about the "Big 3" is Chrysler being part of these talks. The Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli sold himself as a big impact player during his tenure at Home Depot. He was paid enormous amounts of money and never did anything to deserve the pay. There's no way a bailout can go forward with him at the wheel. (The other CEOs ought to be shown the door as well along with the rest of the top management that led them to this moment.) Even worse than Nardelli's history of hype and failure is the money behind Chrysler.

After being pushed away from Daimler, Cerberus Capital Management became the lead investor. The capital management funds were at the forefront of many big money moves - based on ridiculous amounts of credit, of course - but this specific fund is supposed to be worth around $25 billion. Let them fund their own damned investments or go back to their shareholders and get loans from them. They wanted to the upside of highly leveraged deals so let them live with the downside.