Jan
21
Written by:
Russ Henke
1/21/2009 6:56 AM
Yesterday, January 20, 2009, was a banner day for hundreds of millions of people across the USA and around the world, as Barack Obama was inaugurated the 44th US President.There were even elements of good business news that broke through. For example, the Wall Street Journal reported, "Bucking the trend of high-tech competitors,
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) posted a 12% gain in fourth-quarter profit and gave an upbeat outlook for 2009." IBM said that in spite of facing "an extremely difficult economic environment," it predicts it will "continue to benefit from the increasing profitability of its software and services businesses." IBM asserted that "customers are continuing to sign up for outsourcing and other services contracts."
The WS Journal also reported that "
Fiat, Chrysler and Cerberus Capital Management...announced that they have signed a non-binding term sheet to establish a global strategic alliance." As a "consideration for Fiat Group's contribution to the alliance of strategic assets, to include: product and platform sharing, including city and compact segment vehicles, to expand Chrysler's current product portfolio; technology sharing, including fuel efficient and environmentally friendly powertrain technologies; and access to additional markets, including distribution for Chrysler vehicles in markets outside of North America, Fiat would receive an initial 35% equity interest in Chrysler."
Nevertheless, the messes that the last eight years have left behind will take a lot more time to fix, although Ex-president Bush’s departure yesterday was a good start.In New York, Wall Street pitched sharply lower yesterday even as President Obama took office, as the Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 332 points, or 4%, to close January 20 at 7,949. As this blog entry is posted, world stock markets continue the negative trend today, with Japan's benchmark losing 2%, as concern that ongoing bank losses will cripple the world economy.
But as President Obama has emphasized, while it will take time, patience and massive collective and individual commitment, even the debacles of the last administration can eventually be overcome. Yes they can!