How many times have you heard, “the economy won’t turn around until banks start lending?” It’s so damn obvious…

Dollar up vs yen as BOJ warns of further export woes…  Euro gains broadly; doubts about U.S. auto bailout loom… Market expects ECB rate cut; policy-makers seem divided

Two days before the chief executives of Detroit’s Big Three – General Motors Corp. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F), and Chrysler Corp. – march back to Capitol Hill to again petition Congress for a $25 billion bailout, details about each company’s plan to scale back operations are emerging.

Executives from Detroit’s “Big Three” auto companies – General Motors Corp. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F), and Chrysler LLC – yesterday (Tuesday) joined Congressional Democrats on Capitol Hill to make the case for an industry-wide bailout that could spare their troubled companies from totally collapsing. Detroit’s bigwigs have been met with considerable resistance so far, but will continue to make their case today and into the New Year.

Martin Hutchinson analyses what a Democrat landslide means for investors. He says nuclear and clean energy stocks, auto manufacturers, generic drug producers and muni bonds are a “buy”. But fossil fuel companies and financial institutions should be avoided.

The U.S. Treasury Department has rejected General Motors Corp.’s (GM) request of $10 billion in assistance for its potential merger with Chrysler LLC after the Bush Administration decided it didn’t want to broaden its $700 billion financial rescue program to include industrial companies – or to play a role in a GM-Chrysler merger that could cost the U.S. economy tens of thousands of jobs, The New York Times reported yesterday (Monday).

The U.S. government is looking for ways to facilitate a merger between General Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler LLC, in the hopes of keeping the once vibrant industry afloat during a time of crisis. But Uncle Sam’s credit card is close to maxed out and a bailout for the auto industry could open the door for other troubled industries to come calling.

Naturally, the auto industry has to downshift. Not only because gasoline is so expensive, but also because the average household is struggling to pay its other bills too. After it pays the interest on its debt, it has less left over than ever before.