Here are the headlines on page 20 of Friday's FT.
"GM and Chrysler make deeper cuts"
"Daimler, Fiat and Renault in stark warnings"
"Ford considers selling part of Mazda stake to raise cash"
"Chrysler lost nearly $490m in its core carmaking business"
"Hyundai profits cut by strike and fall in global demand"
"Groups act to prevent suppliers' collapse"
This last headline means that no car maker lives alone. If the auto business is in trouble, its suppliers are also in trouble, actually many in much deeper trouble than the firms they supply. So VW, Porsche, Daimler are trying to help get financing for them. One firm employing 1,600 people in Bavaria was denying a loan to finance its company's business through December. The deniers were several banks and the very troubled state lender, Bayern LB.
I know that this may be another matter: But where is the European Community in this disaster. No where. It's a phantom.