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Looks Like Subsidized A123 Execs Want to Cash In
May 18, 2012 - 9:09

A123 logoAs taxpayer-backed electric car battery-maker A123 Systems reported a $125 million 1st quarter loss this week and its stock price dipped to near its 52-week low, the executives that were just awarded big raises and parachutes look like they want to cash in and sell the company.

Officials with the Massachusetts-based manufacturer, which received a $249.1 million grant from the Department of Energy but this week said the ability for the company to continue is a “going concern,” also announced they retained an outside adviser for “evaluation of strategic alternatives.” Translation: they’re looking to sell. If they are successful, A123 President David Vieau and his colleagues stand to reap a windfall even after they laid off 125 factory workers ("Green jobs") in November.

More Federal Officials Don't Like Natural Gas— This Time in Gas Rich Zone
May 17, 2012 - 16:05

Dan Arvizu

As Americans grow increasingly skeptical about global warming, and the availability of shale oil and natural gas is greater than ever in the U.S., a federal official based in Colorado says the climate threat is so dire that electric utilities should not plan long-term for the development of natural gas power plants.

Chevy Volt Pep Rally Masquerades as Electric Vehicle Safety Symposium
May 17, 2012 - 13:01

Chevy Volt chargerThe Department of Transportation and NHTSA have announced that a "technical symposium" will be held on May 18th "to discuss safety considerations for electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries." In addition to NHTSA's presentations, the Department of Energy, automotive manufacturers and battery makers will participate. Given the bias of the participants, the symposium sounds like it is going to be less informational and more infomercial.

Taxpayers Subsidize Forbes 'Green' Billionaires' Schemes
May 15, 2012 - 11:15

Vinod Khosla

This story has been updated below.

The three top U.S. tycoons on Forbes’s “Green” billionaires list have received billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies for their clean technology companies, after they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for political campaigns and lobbying.

Obama’s Gamble on GM Worse than JPM’s Trading Flub
May 15, 2012 - 11:06

When JPM Chase reported that it had lost $2 billion recently on risky derivative trades, the predictable call came from the Obama Administration to increase regulation on banks. The hypocrisy of the politically motivated proclamations becomes evident when you compare the JPM trades to Treasury's continued gamble on its taxpayer funded stake in General Motors, which has suffered an approximate $5 billion loss in value over the past year.

Ally Financial - Another Auto Bailout Bankruptcy
May 14, 2012 - 10:30

The Obama Administration has become quite the expert on bankruptcy filings. The Detroit Free Press reports that the third auto bailout partaker, Ally Financial, has filed bankruptcy for its mortgage subsidiary, ResCap. The government still owns 74% of Ally, and now has an 0 for 3 record on restructuring bailed out auto-related companies outside of bankruptcy.

Bruce Dow Forced Out as Head of SAG Benefit Plans
May 11, 2012 - 12:59

SAG logoIn the world of high-level office politics, a leave of absence set against the backdrop of scandal all too often is a prelude to resignation. That's the way it played out at the Screen Actors Guild. On April 25, the union's longtime Producers Pension and Health Plans (SAG-PPHP) CEO, Bruce Dow, resigned his position, effective April 30, in the face of a wrongful termination suit filed in California state court on March 22 by a former plan official, Craig Simmons. Dow, on disability leave since January, had announced his intent to retire in March. Simmons' suit, which follows his complaint of last September with the U.S. Department of Labor, alleges Dow and loyalists embezzled millions of dollars in SAG benefits and then stonewalled probes. The plans' interim head is its chief operating officer, Christopher Dowdell. Dow will remain as a consultant.

Nissan Seeks Leaf Buyers from Among ‘Pragmatists'
May 11, 2012 - 11:05

Nissan LeafNow that Nissan believes it has captured all the “early adopters” of its all-electric Leaf, its North American subsidiary plans to market the 73-mile-per-charge (they used to say it was 100 miles) vehicle to “pragmatists.”

These practical patrons, according to Executive Vice President Andy Palmer, will not be drawn from the limited ranks of environmental activism, but instead will consist of everyday Joes “who will see the dollars-and-sense benefits of driving one,” reports USA Today.

Non-Union Retirees Shafted in Auto Bailouts Told to Get Jobs
May 10, 2012 - 13:00

One of the most egregious abuses of the Obama Administration's auto bailouts was the blatant favoritism evidenced in the treatment of Delphi (General Motors' parts supplier) retirees. After the Delphi bankruptcy, UAW retirees had their pensions "topped off" by General Motors, apparently with taxpayer money accessed through TARP. While the UAW retirees maintained their pension benefits, non-union, salaried retirees of Delphi lost theirs. There was no logical reason for one group to have their pensions saved while another group lost theirs, just the facts that the distributions were inequitable and the only difference between the groups was that one belonged to a powerful ally of Team Obama and the other did not.

Fisker Insinuates Customer to Blame for Karma Fire
May 10, 2012 - 8:29

Fisker logoFisker Automotive has implied that the Texas owner of one of its Karma models committed “fraud” or “malicious intent” in blaming the luxury electric vehicle for his garage fire last week, after he had to rescue his wife, mother and child from flames that spread quickly to his house.

The company’s claim could be a fatal public relations move, as the chief investigator in Fort Bend County Fire Marshal’s Office, Robert Baker, has also blamed the fire on the Karma. Fisker, recipient of $193 million (out of a $529 million total guarantee) loan backed by taxpayers via the Department of Energy, has suffered a series of publicity blunders including two recalls, a Karma breakdown at Consumer Reports’ test facility, a SEC investigation of its primary venture capital raisers, layoffs, and a cutoff of its loan by DOE.

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