Word: modeste
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...likely to be an ugly summer of sausage-grinding in Washington. Obama's two biggest domestic-policy proposals - health-care reform and alternative energy - will be pulverized and reshaped by the Senate. The end products may be unsightly and counterproductive, if passed. A third initiative - a relatively modest regulatory reform of the financial system - is being chewed to dust by the termite lobbyists of the banking industry. A fourth initiative - the effort to buy off the banking system's "toxic" assets - is languishing, near comatose, because of the bankers' intransigence. (See who's who in Obama's White House...
...Lowdown: Despite its modest good news, this report offers little cause for celebration. Traffic problems in the country have worsened dramatically over the years, and solutions like greater investment in mass transit may not be effective in the long term for our population boom. What's more, the study's authors say, history shows that after a recession, traffic growth often comes roaring back. In other words, they write, "Anyone who thinks the congestion problem has gone away should check the past...
...employees by October, at which point it expects to have trimmed $12 billion in costs. GM also cut its advertising spending in half this year, which doesn't exactly stimulate sales. Bottom line: the next 12 to 18 months are perilous for both companies - and they'll need a modest improvement in sales just to survive. Ford, meanwhile, has played a difficult hand quite deftly. Despite a drop in sales volume, it has outperformed the market during the second quarter, reclaiming second place in total sales from Toyota and closing in on GM. (See 10 ways your job will change...
...manufacturers doing well? Subaru continues to chug along, building on its modest success last year. Overall, Subaru's sales are down only 1% during the first six months of the year, and it just reported a 3% increase in June. Audi is another carmaker showing signs of gaining share in a difficult market. While its sales are down slightly, Audi now holds more than 9% of the U.S. luxury market, its largest share in years. (Watch an interview with Ford CEO Alan Mulally...
...crisis as well as its real estate downturn. "It's not one thing: it's real estate, it's availability of credit, it's unemployment" that's hurting California sales, he says. Mike DiGiovanni, GM's general director of market analysis, says the present economic numbers suggest that a modest improvement in economic conditions is under way but that it's still very fragile and could use more stimulus. GM's lawyers warned in bankruptcy court that the company might have to start the liquidation process by mid-July if it is not guaranteed an exit from bankruptcy...