Microsoft billionaire founder Bill Gates wondered on Wednesday why the US government was considering a bailout for the Big Three US automakers when no private investor was willing to foot the bill.
“After all, they have to say ‘if no one else is willing to invest, why is that?’ Gates told CNN on the eve of congressional hearings on restructuring plans and requests by Chrysler, Ford and GM for a combined US$34 billion in government bridge loans to avert a collapse of the sector.
“What is it that investors are seeing about this business model or cost structure that makes them unwilling, and why, in that case, is the government alone stepping forward in this way?” Gates said.
“When you don’t have any private investors you really have to say, is taxpayer money going to have the desired effect?” Gates suggested the government look closely at the Detroit automakers’ restructuring plans.
“There are very few industries that aren’t going to suffer this [economic] downturn ... How does government take its finite resources and decide how much restructuring or change is expected there?” Gates asked. “And ideally you look at the sign of private investment as part of how you say, ‘OK, that really is a good investment class.’”
Reinforcing Gates’ view of the US auto industry, ratings agency Moody’s announced on Wednesday it had lowered its debt rating on Chrysler and GM to “CA” from “CAA2,” saying “the rating outlook is negative” for both companies.
The agency maintained its rating for Ford.
On US president-elect Barack Obama’s economic challenge when he takes office in January, Gates said he would recommend a far-reaching stimulus program as a first step.
“Clearly we need a stimulus that doesn’t undermine the incentive for businesses to be careful about their spending and making those correct investments,” Gates said.
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
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