Oil settles near $48 on auto vote
Passage of the $14 billion measure to aid carmakers helps boost sentiment about economy, but threatens weaker dollar.
By Kenneth Musante, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Oil prices jumped Thursday after the House passed a $14 billion stop-gap measure designed to keep the U.S. auto industry from immediate collapse.
U.S. crude for January delivery [...]

U.S. Job Losses Signal Recession Will Be Long, Deep
The U.S. economy may be headed for its deepest and longest recession since World War II as mounting job losses take their toll on consumer confidence and spending.
By Rich Miller and Bob Willis
Employers cut payrolls last month at the fastest pace in 34 years as [...]

Argentina tries gov’t car loan plan
Consumers to get low interest car loans as carmakers agree to produce low-cost models.
Argentina’s auto industry will get a 3.1 billion peso ($900 million) boost with cut-rate loans for first-time new car buyers, the government said Saturday.
Production Minister Deborah Giorgi’s announcement detailed a key part of a broader economic stimulus [...]

German Auto Industry Facing the Abyss
More than 1.5 million workers in Germany depend on the automobile industry for their jobs. But that industry is now facing one of its worst crises ever. Respected giants BMW and Mercedes are particularly exposed as sales plummet.
By Dietmar Hawranek
It was time for Martin Winterkorn to relax. The exhausted chairman [...]

Merkel’s Opel Offer Slammed
The German government’s offer to come to the rescue of carmaker Opel has come in for hefty criticism, particularly from within Chancellor Merkel’s own party. Meanwhile Opel says it is reducing production for next year and cutting back to a 30-hour week in most plants.
hey say that if America sneezes, the world [...]