World markets were mostly higher, despite more discouraging U.S. economic news. Congress and the Bush administration are examining restructuring plans put forth by failing American carmakers in hopes of securing emergency federal loans.
The latest economic data shows further contraction of America's service sector, the slashing of 250,000 private-sector jobs in November, and reduced productivity gains in the United States, which is now believed to have been in a recession since the end of 2007.
The deteriorating economy has further strained America's already-struggling automobile industry. The biggest of the top three U.S. carmakers, General Motors, says without immediate government assistance, it could face bankruptcy in coming weeks.
General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are asking for a total of $34 billion in federal loans, and have pledged to cut costs and restructure operations to restore long-term viability.
The Bush administration, which has opposed extending federal assistance beyond a $25 billion government loan originally intended to foster the development of more fuel-efficient vehicles, is taking a wait-and-see approach to the carmakers' pleas for help.
"We want to make sure that a company is viable, so that if the American taxpayers help the automakers now, that they do not have to help them again in six months because the plans did not work. We have said that we want to try to help the automakers. But we need to look at each of them and see if what we would be able to support could actually be a good investment fort the taxpayers, and we just do not know that yet," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.
Auto executives are to testify on Capitol Hill later this week for the second time in as many weeks. Tuesday, the carmakers reported sales in November that were down as much as 47 percent from a year ago.
"The pace of deterioration [of sales] has actually accelerated. Weakness in the first quarter [of 2008], more weakness in the second quarter, significantly more weakness in the third quarter, then October and November were the worst levels we have seen post-World War II," said General Motors Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson.
But industry analysts say, even if car sales were better, U.S. manufacturers would still be losing money because the cost of producing each vehicle exceeds what they can charge to sell them..
Carmakers need to cut costs, and that means securing significant wage and benefits concessions from the United Auto Workers union, according to analyst Rebecca Lindland of the forecasting firm Global Insight.
"This [bailout of the auto industry] is not going to really work without getting some kind of flexibility from the UAW. These companies could go bankrupt, and then the union is powerless. So they have to give concessions," he said.
Democratic congressional leaders have said it would be unacceptable for the U.S. auto industry, the backbone of American manufacturing, to fail. What is yet to be decided is whether emergency government funds would come from a $700 billion financial rescue package Congress approved in October.
The Treasury Department has spent nearly half of those funds to prop up banks, mortgage and investment firms, and insurance companies.
At a news conference, President-elect Barack Obama said he wants to see federal assistance go beyond rescuing financial corporations and provide relief to Americans who are in danger of losing their homes.
"We have got to start helping homeowners, in a serious way, to prevent foreclosures. The deteriorating assets in the financial markets are rooted in the deterioration of people being able to pay their mortgages and stay in their homes. And if we help Main Street, ultimately we are going to help Wall Street," he said.
美国经济的负面消息不断传来。与此同时，美国国会和布什政府正在审查陷于困境的美国汽车制造商提交的改组计划，它们希望获得联邦紧急贷款。
最新的经济数据显示，美国服务业进一步收缩，11月份私人部门损失了25万份工作，美国的生产率增长出现下降。所有这些都进一步表明，美国经济处于衰退状态。
不断恶化的经济使已经在死亡线上挣扎的美国汽车工业雪上加霜。三大汽车公司中规模最大的通用汽车表示，如果没有政府的立即援助，它将在几个星期之内面临破产。
通用、福特和克莱斯勒正在要求政府提供总数为340亿美元的联邦贷款。它们保证降低成本，改革经营管理，以恢复长期的生存能力。
布什政府反对在最初的250亿美元用于开发节能汽车的联邦贷款之外提供任何新的联邦援助，现在仍然对汽车制造商要求帮助采取观望态度。
白宫发言人佩里诺说：“我们想要确保一家公司能够独立生存。所以如果美国纳税人现在帮助汽车制造商，他们就不需要在6个月之内由于援助计划不生效而被迫继续施以援手。我们已经说过，我们希望试图帮助这些汽车公司，但是我们需要审查每一家公司，看看我们提供的帮助对于纳税人来说是不是一笔真正好的投资。我们现在还不能确信这一点。”
今后两天，三大汽车公司的总裁们将在国会山接受几个星期以来的第二次质询。星期二，这些汽车公司报告了11月的销售情况，销售量比一年前下降了多达百分之47。
通用汽车公司的首席运营官弗里兹.亨德森说：“销售恶化的速度实际上正在加快。2008年第一季度销售量就已经下降，第二季度更加疲软，第三季度疲弱态势急剧恶化，然后10月和11月达到二战结束之后最差的水平。”
但是产业界分析人士说，即使汽车销售量好转，美国汽车制造商还是会亏损，因为每辆车的生产成本都超过了它的销售价格。
美国经济咨询公司全球透视的分析人士莱拜卡.林德兰德说，汽车制造商需要削减成本，那就意味着要从工会组织汽车工业联合会那里获得工人工资和福利方面的巨大让步。
“如果不能从汽车工人联合会那里得到某种弹性让步，对汽车工业的救助就不会真正发挥作用。如果这些公司破产，工会就失去了地位。所以它们不得不做出让步。”
国会的民主党领导人表示，美国制造业的支柱汽车工业的倒闭是不能令人接受的。现在需要决定的是，政府的紧急救援资金是否出自国会10月份通过的7千亿美元的金融救助方案。
财政部已经动用了这笔资金的将近一半来援助银行、房贷公司、投资机构和保险公司。
当选总统奥巴马在新闻发布会上说，他希望看到联邦救援不仅仅要帮助金融公司，而且也要惠及到面临失去住房危险的美国人。
“我们必须开始以十分严肃的方式来帮助房主，防止他们丧失房屋赎回权。金融市场资产不断贬值的根源在于人们缴纳房屋贷款、保住他们房屋的能力不断恶化。如果我们帮助了普通的美国人，最终我们也能够帮助华尔街。”
