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No banks were mentioned by name yet ABC's Betsy Stark and CBS' Anthony Mason both reported that examiners had combed through the books of the nation's 19 major institutions and finished their so-called stress tests. CBS' Mason ticked off the criteria that were supposed to simulate serious future economic shock: 10/3% unemployment, 3.3% contraction in Gross Domestic Product, a further 29% decline in real estate prices in the housing market. "Some analysts say those assumptions may not be severe enough," he shrugged. ABC's Stark took the results of the test as good news. Regulators "declared the overall system in good health." She called the criteria "a rigorous review."
Instead of high finance, NBC chose the automobile industry for its sector under stress. Phil LeBeau of CNBC brought us an update on Detroit's shrinking Big Three. "Chrysler could be bankrupt within a week," he warned. Ford Motors, thanks to the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover and the success of its Mustang model, is losing money at half the rate of last fall: "Ford says it is turning the tide." General Motors "is going to kill Pontiac," leaving it with just four domestic brands. Predicted LeBeau, those four will have lower sales in this country than Toyota's three combined.
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