NCAA Basketball Championship:Eyeballs May Have Strayed

After The Fray's charming acoustic guitar and drum national anthem,the NCAA Championship basketball game was trending downhill,though with some blips of excitement.The Kentucky Wildcats seized control early and made it clear they likely wouldn't relinquish it to the Kansas Jayhawks.The game started too late to begin with-9:23 Eastern.Despite a football style crowd of 70,000 screamers in the New Orleans Superdome,the air was gradually being let out of the broadcast balloon.
Sponsors of the CBS telecast included SABMiller PLC;Capital One Financial;AT&T;Chrysler;General Motors;Daimler Benz;Liberty Mutual;Nissan Motor Company Ltd.;Coca-Cola;and TD Ameritrade.The initial audience was no doubt of exceptional size,but one can see how it may have trailed off considerably before too long,depriving these firms of many of their highly desired eyeballs.
Kansas made a late run,but number one-ranked Kentucky won 67-59 for the team's eighth national championship.

Canadian Banks:Cramer's Top Pick

CNBC's Jim Cramer has announced his favorite Canadian bank.It is Toronto Dominion Bank,the nation's 2nd largest.TD recently raised its dividend and beat its earnings estimate.
TD is a conservative,deposit-rich bank,Cramer pointed out.With most of its exposure in Ontario,it attracts a great deal of natural resource clients.
The bank has 25% of its business in the U.S.,and is buying Chrysler Financial for 3.6 billion dollars.This will improve its loan/deposit ratio.TD has no headline risk,in Cramer's opinion.
Despite Cramer's call,the typical Cramer bounce in a stock he selects didn't seem to materialize when he announced it.This leads to a certain train of thought:Don't they like Canada?Don't they trust Canada?Are they bored by Canada?
Toronto Dominion Bank(TD)

Michigan's Got the Goods

We've got the capacity,Governor Granholm insisted.We've got a workforce that's hungry.We want to be the ones that produce those electric vehicles.Come on over! We want Chrysler to be big and vibrant,producing those vehicles that lead us to be independent of foreign oil.This bankruptcy gives us the ability to leapfrog,to be the place where that happens.This is a defining moment for Michigan.Michigan has blue ribbon factories for not producing waste.This is not your father's UAW,the Michigan Democrat observed,who has been mentioned as a U.S. Supreme Court prospect.

A Rough Ride Ahead

General Motors has a significant hurdle to climb with the bondholders,Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm noted.You can read the tealeaves in the Chrysler news.GM is the next shoe to drop.Let's support the home team,the governor urged.Let's make sure we have a viable company on the other side of bankruptcy.We're gonna have a tough period of time as the Chrysler plants go into hibernation for the next 30-60 days.People feared there would be a liquidation,but these companies are not gonna go away.The bankruptcy announcement will ensure the survival of Chrysler.If the court does what it's supposed to do,the risk to jobs will be greatly diminished,Governor Granholm pointed out.

Confident in Chrysler

Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm is confident in the future of Chrysler,which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.We are gonna see Chrysler emerge as a stronger,leaner,greener company, she said.They've got agreements with the vast majority of stakeholders.The hedge funds were offered a premium,but they rejected it because they wanted more.I don't know that hedge funds were acting in their investors' best interest,the governor remarked.Saving Chrysler is about jobs-38,000 jobs inside Michigan alone,Governor Granholm indicated.Under the agreements,which must be approved by a bankruptcy court,the U.S. government will get an 8% stake in Chrysler,the third-largest North American automaker;the Canadian government will get 2%;Italian automaker Fiat will get 20-35%,depending on whether targets are met;and the United Auto Workers and Canadian Auto Workers will get a 55% stake in the firm,which was privately held by Cerberus Capital Management.

Automakers Critical To Canada

The Canadian government,on both the national and provincial level,has been watching the U.S. automakers with great concern.The automotive industry is Canada's largest manufacturing segment,directly employing more than 150,000.The industry contributes more than 14% of Canada's manufacturing output,sustaining 12 Ontario communities.In consequence,the Canadian authorities are providing 3.29 billion dollars U.S. in loans to Canadian subsidiaries of General Motors and Chrysler.The federal government will give 2.09 billion,while Ontario will provide another 1.2 billion,said Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.President Bush is authorizing 17.4 billion in aid to the struggling automakers.Ford Motor Company is not included in the loan packages,as it only needs a back-up line of credit at this time.

Ford Presents Plan

Ford Motor Company has presented its recovery plan to Congress,along with its peers Chrysler and General Motors.Ford intends to return to profitability by 2011,speeding development of fuel-efficient vehicles such as an electric van and an electric car by 2010.The old line firm will devote 14 billion dollars to advanced technology research,while management will forgo bonuses and CEO Alan Mulally works for one dollar a year.Ford will close two plants by the end of the year and plans to sell its Volvo unit.Although Mr.Mulally says Ford has the near term liquidity it needs,it would like nine billion in bridge financing,in case the financial crisis is protracted.One Nobel laureate,Paul Krugman,thinks the crisis may run until 2011.Before the financial crisis,the U.S. auto industry was gaining strength.Now all automakers worldwide are in difficult straits.