Last week it was the Democrats, this week the Republicans… Alternative energy will be the winner, regardless of who wins the election… Bill Bonner says the Fed’s easy credit policies may have set off a dangerous ripple effect in the economy… It’s a Wrap! Here are some of your top stories for this week:

POLITICS & ECONOMICS

Last week it was the Democrats, this week the Republicans. The GOP convention in St Paul, Minnesota was a tale of two speeches. The first: a witty, spikey discourse by VP candidate Sarah Palin. It was watched by an estimated 40 million on tv, just about matching the audience for Barack Obama a week earlier.

It also upstaged her (potential) future boss, which is always a dangerous thing to do, let alone when the White House is at stake. “McCain’s Speech is Universally Panned“reads the Guardian headline over in Britain, as it gauged the media’s reaction to the Republican candidate’s acceptance speech. While Republicans will hardly worry about the response of a liberal, foreign daily, the dearth of McCain coverage relative to Palin is a worry for them.

If the Palin ticket was meant to make people (and the media) sit up and take notice, it seems to have worked. The Alaskan Governor and ‘hockey mom’ pulled no punches as she tore into Barack Obama and the Washington ‘elite’. CBS News said that “Palin-Mania” was sweeping the nation. Her speech has already drawn comparisons with Obama’s own 2004 breakthrough, and prompted whipsers of ‘the new Reagan’ in Republican corridors.

But when the novelty wears off, what will be left? An economic and energy crisis, for sure.

Money Morning’s Martin Hutchinson says Palin’s reputation as a fighter against government waste should reassure investors over public finances. He also thinks she is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise tired energy debate.

OIL & ENERGY

Taipan Daily’s Justice Litle thinks alternative energy will be the winner, regardless of who wins the election. “An Obama administration will be deeply beholden to the “greens” on multiple levels… geopolitically speaking, a McCain White House is far more likely to err on the side of aggression [with Russia, especially]… which, in turn, would send the price of oil climbing back towards $150 as the fear premium heats up”.

Speaking of expensive fuel, the “big 3″ automakers in Detroit have had the hell of a year so far. Ford’s (NYSE:F) stock is down 34.5% since January 1, General Motors (NYSE: GM) has slumped 57%. Chysler’s U.S. sales tumbled 34.5% y-o-y in August.

All three are strapped for cash, and like any good sibling, they are asking Big Daddy (the Fed) for a $50 billion handout, using his unprecedented generosity towards the older sibling (Wall Street) as leverage. They argue that the capitol is essential to the development of new, cleaner hybrid cars. But not everyone can be the golden child of the family.

Steven Pearlstein from the Washington Post has harsh words. “Not only are the Big Three not deserving, but to help them out of their current predicament would also set a lousy precedent in a market-driven economy where the possibility of earning great wealth is supposed to be balanced against the possibility of failure.”

Bill Bonner says the Fed’s easy credit policies may have set off a dangerous ripple effect in the economy. After all, when times are hard, everyone wants pocket money…

EMERGING MARKETS

Hard times have hit India’s Tata Motors (TTM ). The news this week was that Tata motor’s stock has plunged 48.76% over the past 52 weeks. In the West Bengal area Singur, farmers who gave over 1000 acres of their land to Tata to build a factory have been protesting for weeks now.

Jason Simpkins of Money Morning tells us that “Earlier this week, Sushen Santra, a 65-year old resident of the Joymollah village who earlier had willingly forfeited his land to the Singur project, committed suicide after hearing the Tata Group would relocate. Three of Santra’s sons were employed by Tata to work in the project area. ‘My father came to know from a news channel last night that the Tata factory would be shifted out of Singur.’ ” “There’s a growing fear in the region that if Tata moves out of West Bengal, the prospect of luring future industrial or technological projects will be put in jeopardy.”

Writing for Contrarian Profits, Irwin Greenstein point out that Tata will have to keep an eye out on China. “Now, another problem is coming fast in the rearview mirror of Tata Motors: Chinese car makers. There are over 40 car manufacturers in China today. Combined, they could launch a major assault on Tata’s core markets.”

We hope you had a great weekend!

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Contrarian Profits Staff

Marc & Julie