As Auto Deals Add Up

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April 02, 2009
Insider Newsletter A weekly summary of the best in BusinessWeek and BusinessWeek.com

NEWS  THIS WEEK'S TOP STORY As Auto Deals Add Up, Will Buyers Bite? A fast-growing list of incentives is slashing prices at GM, Chrysler, and Ford. But consumers still may not take the bait

Editor's Memo Lower prices, guaranteed service, interest-free financing—the White House wants you to buy a car. But do you really want to buy American? Maybe your heart is still set on that Prius. In our Top Story this week, BW's John Tozzi asks whether buyers can save Detroit. From the Global Channel, should we dust off our old copies of Europe on $5 a Day? Paris, the most visited city in the world, is experiencing a sharp decline in tourist dollars. Even the Eiffel Tower has seen 7% fewer visits over last year. What went wrong for the iPhone in India may hinge on the habits of consumers, but Apple is studying hard on the eve of its China launch to make sure it does better there. It has reason to be optimistic about how the smartphone will be received: There are already up to a million smuggled iPhones in the Chinese market. We have a Featured Column on why Rick Wagoner didn't deserve his fate at GM, and a Featured Video with BW Chief Economist Mike Mandel telling us the truth about Americans and how much they're saving. —Katherine Davis

FROM THIS WEEK'S ISSUE OF BUSINESSWEEK COVER STORY Housing: Signs of Life Housing sales are picking up in some of the hardest-hit markets. Will confidence spread? NEWS Fritz Henderson at GM: That's Some Tough Job The new CEO knows every facet of the company, but the feds will be breathing down his neck IN DEPTH A Boom For Tax Prep New tax breaks will drive fresh customers to H&R Block, Liberty Tax, and others. But the IRS fears increased fraud in the unregulated industry   FROM BW.COM'S TECHNOLOGY CHANNEL INTERNET Time Warner Cable Expands Internet Usage Pricing The newly spun-off cable company will impose premium rates on big users of broadband in Web markets in Texas, New York, and North Carolina COMPUTERS HP Is 'Studying' Android for PC Use If Hewlett-Packard, the world's biggest PC maker, were to install Google's operating system on netbooks, Microsoft Windows could face strong competition TECHNOLOGY House Energy Bill Seeks to Cap Greenhouse Gases The legislation is an ambitious, multipronged attempt to address climate change. But some of its provisions are highly controversial   FROM BW.COM'S SMALLBIZ CHANNEL ENTREPRENEUR'S JOURNAL A $100,000 Education for Newbie Inventors Property developers-turned-inventors Marianne and Rick Kay learned the hard way about turning their nifty prototype into a viable business SMART ANSWERS Swapping Equity for Services Before going ahead with an equity trade, consider alternatives, and be sure to formalize the arrangement with an attorney GETTING STARTED The Pros of Planting Startups in Smaller Cities Quality of life and local incentives can lend a competitive advantage to entrepreneurs when they need it most   FROM BW.COM'S ASIA & EUROPE CHANNELS TELECOMMUNICATIONS Apple's iPhone, an Indian Flop, Prepares for China The failure of Apple's iPhone to make a dent in India's lucrative telecom market may hold lessons for its upcoming push in China AFTER WORK Paris Tourism Feels the Economic Chill The most visited city in the world is getting clobbered by a sharp downturn in global travel. "It's a catastrophe"   FROM BW.COM'S LIFESTYLE CHANNEL REVIEWS 2009 Acura TL Sales might be sluggish for the redesigned Acura TL, but if the economy were better this sporty, entry-level luxury car would be a winner AUTO BAILOUT Chrysler: No Roman Holiday Ahead The carmaker has 30 days to hammer out an alliance with Italy's Fiat. But owner Cerberus will lose in any case, and skeptics predict bankruptcy BOOK EXCERPT A New Look at The Peter Principle BusinessWeek's exclusive sneak peek at Bob Sutton's new foreword to Dr. Peter's useful, hilarious classic   FROM BW.COM'S INNOVATION & DESIGN CHANNEL INNOVATION How Fusion-io Improves Companies' Memory The red-hot startup was nominated by readers as an innovative company we should know. Its business could overturn the way corporations store data DESIGN AWARDS Knocking the Knockoffs The Plagiarius Awards shine a spotlight on the repercussions of counterfeiting   FROM BW.COM'S INVESTING CHANNEL INVESTING Global Trade Collapse Smacks Industrial Companies World trade is declining at the fastest rate since the Great Depression, causing many industrial companies to struggle GENE MARCIAL'S STOCK PICKS Marcial: AutoZone Is in the Fast Lane The stock of the auto parts retailer has zoomed as new-car sales choke on their own dust. But how much longer can the joyride continue? INVESTING Convertible Bonds: Opportunity Knocks Investors who disdain sitting on cash as the market meanders are again buying convertible bonds, firing up the market for hybrid new issues  BW MALL   SPONSORED LINKS Notre Dame Certificates ONLINE  Earn an Executive Certificate from Notre Dame Online! Enroll Now. Try Currency Trading  Learn to Trade FX with a Free Demo. Free Commentaries and Market news. Online Forex Practice Account  Experience the excitement of trading live. Risk-Free. Try Now. Catalyst Group  User-Centered Research and Design. Contact Us to Discuss Your Project. HR Management Professional Certificates  Human Resources Certification from Cornell University, online via eCornell. Request info today! Buy a link now! This newsletter is a FREE service provided by BusinessWeek.com. To sign up for other newsletters, cancel delivery, change delivery options or change your e-mail address, please go to our Newsletter Preferences page. If you need other assistance, please contact Customer Service or contact: Wanda Cooper BusinessWeek Customer Rights Communications Data Services 1995 G Avenue Red Oak, IA 51566 Phone: 1-800-635-1200 View our corporate privacy policy here. To learn more about how BusinessWeek.com applies this policy, you can contact our Marketing Department. Copyright 2008, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Notice

FEATURED SLIDE SHOWS > > Ousted CEOs Best and Worst States for Tech Jobs   Advertisement   Reader Poll: Special Issue Trouble at the office? In surveys, blogs, polls, and social media, BusinessWeek collaborated with readers to identify problems at work. Together we found answers.     IN YOUR FACE: THE OPEN CLOUD MANIFESTO Reader Vinnie Mirchandani Writes: "It will be fascinating to watch when IBM and its manifesto signers like SAP are asked to match economics of incumbent cloud providers like Amazon and Salesforce." Tell Us: Is Open Cloud Computing Feasible? >   Featured Blog Memo to the Car Czar: Every carmaker in the world is making hybrids. GM can't just catch up. It must leapfrog ahead. Look to Tata Motors' Nano for inspiration. Bruce Nussbaum Other BusinessWeek Blogs The Auto Beat Globespotting Blogspotting Brand New Day Byte of the Apple Deal Flow Economics Unbound Election 2008 Eye on Asia Fine On Media First Jobs Games, Inc. Getting In Green Business Hot Property Investing Insights Management IQ The New Entrepreneur NEXT: Innovation Tools & Trends NussbaumOnDesign The Oil & the Glory Recession in America The Tech Beat Technology at Work What's Your Story Idea? Working Parents READ MORE > ADVERTISEMENT Generate Serious Income in Turbulent Markets In today's market, there's more to trading covered calls than just buying a stock and selling a call. With a complimentary 3 month subscription to Bernie Schaeffer's "Covered Call Plus", you'll learn how to maximize income without limiting your upside while still reducing downside exposure.   FEATURED VIDEO The Truth About the Saving Rate BW Chief Economist Mike Mandel explains why Americans have actually cut back on spending more than the official numbers show, and why the actual saving rate is higher than reported   Advertisement   FEATURED COLUMN Wagoner Didn't Deserve It GM's ex-CEO is a scapegoat. The problems with the auto industry aren't one man's fault. Why should he pay when so many Wall Street CEOs remain?