In the newspapers there is much discussion of what General Motors (NYSE:GM) should do. This discussion has gone on for many years. Until now, it was a conversation carried on by serious analysts and auto industry experts. They all said the same thing: GM needed to clear out its management, dump much of its expensive, “legacy” overhead, and produce better cars. Why didn’t it do so?

Pity the rich. Pity the CEOs. Pity the capitalists.

International industrial giant ABB Ltd. (ADR:ABB) is set to generate big business as governments around the world implement economic stimulus packages. Horacio Marquez says the company’s bullet-proof balance sheet, strong margins and solid cash flow will mitigate the fallout from the global credit crisis. And its strong long-term prospects make it a great buy today.

The trillions of dollars that Washington is throwing at beleaguered American industries could have unforeseen consequences in the longer term viability of domestic investment opportunities. Washington’s handouts may come at the expense of funding important R&D projects that could give the U.S. a long-term competitive edge that it appears to be losing to Asia.

Children didn’t make up Santa. Parents did. Santa may be generous. But naughty kids get nothing but coal. Santa is a ruthless administrator of justice. This is not a kid’s fantasy. But it is a parental one.

The appetite for “Crystal Ball” predictions seems to be insatiable. Despite the fact that I am consistently wrong on the timing of my predictions, not the direction, I’m good at that, but when it happens, not so good, I have been asked to do another prediction article.

The Fed and Treasury are doing untold damage to the US economy and the dollar with their unprecedented bailout spending, says Martin Hutchinson. That’s why there will soon be a stampede to the exits from the Treasury bond market. Martin gives four ways for investors to prepare for the coming crash.

Japanese yen rallies…  Renminbi stumbles…  A very tough data week in store…  Rate cuts all around the world… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

It’s even easier to write off China. But Keith Fitzgerald says China’s stimulus package, unlike America’s, is large enough to work. Expect an uptick in Chinese demand in late 2009 and an acceleration in 2010.

The record drop in consumer spending in October is clear evidence of a profound weakening of the US economy.  Even President Bush think thinks the situation is bad. At the G20 summit over the weekend, he said it was conceivable that the US “could go into a depression greater than the Great Depression“.