Loans to automakers include risks
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Conditions attached to the proposed $15 billion in automaker loans put the U.S. government close to the concept of nationalizing the industry, observers said.
The loan package, not yet voted on, includes the appointment of a "car czar," who would monitor major expenditures and guide the direction of the industry.
"I don't know that we've seen anything like this since the government told the automakers what kind of tanks to make during World War II," Professor Jeffrey Garten at the Yale School of Management told The New York Times.
"We don't want government to run companies," U.S. President-elect Barack Obama said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
But, the risks include billions of taxpayer dollars put into companies that still could fail, the Times reported Tuesday.
"Think about this: Who in the federal government would have the tremendous insight needed to fix this industry?" said Malcolm Salter, a professor emeritus at Harvard Business School.
The conditions, however, shift the balance between free enterprise and government control.
"We're at this moment in history, in which the Chinese are touting that their system is better than ours," Garten said.
"And our response, it looks like, is to begin replicating what they've been doing."
Modified mortgages fall back into default
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Modifying mortgages failed to prevent defaults in more than half of the cases in the first half of the year, a federal regulator said.
In the first quarter of the year 53 percent and in the second quarter 51 percent of borrowers with modified mortgages fell back into default despite modifications made to help them stay ahead on payments, U.S. Comptroller John Dugan told CNNMoney.com.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is asking lenders for more details so a new strategy for heading off foreclosures can be developed, Dugan said.
"These answers are important, because they have important ramifications for the foreclosure crisis and how policymakers should address loan modifications," he said.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairwoman Sheila Bair said 15 percent of modified mortgages fail again if the interest rates are modified.
"The quality of the modifications are not what they should be," she said.
Bair has proposed extending loans to 40 years or lowering interests to as low as 3 percent to keep mortgages from default, CNNMoney.com reported.
Afghan, NATO forces kill Taliban commander
ABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A Taliban leader, believed responsible for suicide bombings, kidnappings and torture, has been killed, NATO military leaders said Tuesday.
Afghan and NATO forces killed Muhammed Bobi overnight during a joint operation in Logar province south of Afghanistan's capital Kabul, CNN reported.
Bobi was allegedly responsible for suicide bombings against civilians and troops and was involved in the kidnapping and torture of citizens, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said.
The Taliban commander's death will have a "significant effect" on the terrorist organization's ability to operate in Logar province, said Canadian Brig. Gen. Richard Blanchette, an ISAF spokesman.
"During the joint operation, Bobi was given the option to surrender peacefully but instead attempted to attack (Afghan military) members," ISAF said in a statement. "Fortunately, no civilian casualties resulted from his last act of violence."
Shunned Quebec opposition leader resigns
MONTREAL, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The leader of Quebec's provincial right-wing party resigned after its ranks were decimated by Liberals and separatists in Monday's election.
Mario Dumont, founder of the 14-year-old populist Action Democratique du Quebec told supporters east of Quebec City late Monday he was disappointed, the Globe and Mail reported.
"I would have liked to receive a better result. I assume full responsibility for that," he said. "And I will not be at the head of my party in the next general election."
The ADQ fell from 39 seats it won in 2007 to seven seats and attracted 16 percent of the popular vote, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Premier Jean Charest won a third term as his Liberals won 66 seats and 42 percent of the popular vote, while the separatist Parti Quebecois surged at the ADQ's expense. Under leader Pauline Marois, the PQ won 51 seats in the National Assembly in Quebec City with 35 percent of the popular vote, the CBC said.
A minor separatist party secured one seat in the 125-seat chamber.
Provincial election officials said 56.5 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot, which was the lowest turnout since 1927, the CBC said.
More doping tests for 2008 Olympians
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Several hundred samples taken during the Summer Olympics in Beijing will be tested for certain hormones next month, the International Olympic Committee said.
The testing series will focus primarily on endurance events such as cycling, rowing, swimming and track and field, the IOC said in a release Tuesday. The IOC said the samples will be tested for signs of a new version of the endurance-enhancing hormone erythropoietin and another hormone that can "enhance performance by influencing the glycogen metabolism."
The IOC said about 400 samples would be checked for the new EPO and about 100 would be screened for the other hormone. The testing will be conducted by a laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland.
With tests to begin in January, results are expected during the first quarter of the year.
The IOC said it carried out 4,770 doping tests during the Beijing Games. The samples, generally from the top five finishers plus two other participants in a given event, were taken from July 27-Aug. 24. The samples will be kept by the IOC for eight years, allowing them to be screened as doping testing improves its processes and new substances and methods are thought to be used.
