$25 Billion or More Home Loans Foreclosed

$25 Billion Required To Avoid Even More Foreclosures

Despite new flexibility of the new policy on the $700 Billion Bailout Fund, the administration said Wednesday it remains opposed to using the rescue fund to bail out the ailing auto industry.

President-elect Obama called for the administration to speed the delivery of $25 billion in loans already approved. He said his economic transition team will explore "what we can do under current law and whether additional legislation will be needed" to help the car companies. The officials familiar with the Bush-Obama meeting at the White House said that Obama was pushing for the auto industry aid. Dramatic action needs to be taken this year -- rather than after he is sworn into office -- because the Big Three U.S. automakers are bleeding cash at an alarming rate.

In agreement with President-elect Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid were pressing for quick passage of a major package for carmakers during a postelection session that begins next Tuesday, and one key House Democrat was putting together legislation that would send $25 billion in emergency loans to the beleaguered industry in exchange for a government ownership stake in the Big Three car companies.

Shares of General Motors plunged to a 65-year low, closing to $2.92, its lowest close since April 1943. It could run out of cash and posted a $4.2 billion loss. Of course, this is part of a much bigger story. Should G-M, Chrysler or Ford declare bankruptcy, it would cost the American economy 3 million jobs. The nation's jobless ranks zoomed past 10 million last month, the most in a quarter-century. The government reported that the unemployment rate soared to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October as businesses cut another 240,000 jobs. About one in 10 jobs in America is tied to the auto industry, and if one of the companies goes bankrupt than we will be faced with the simple equation of:

Increased Unemployment = More Foreclosures

Written by Katherine M