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DETROIT — Detroit automakers and their allies in Congress said Wednesday that Barack Obama’s victory could help U.S. automakers line up federal funding needed for them to survive a terrible economic slump.

Obama made it clear during his campaign that he understood the automakers’ problems and would work to preserve the industry, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Wednesday.

"I’m very optimistic that we’re going to have a fighter in the White House for manufacturers, and that’s what we need," Levin said.

Levin said he was told Wednesday by Jason Furman, Obama’s senior economic adviser, that government aid is atop Obama’s agenda. Levin said the Obama adviser did not commit to a specific funding path for the industry but was supportive.

Obama has said he would meet with industry leaders and the United Auto Workers immediately to talk about helping automakers, but auto industry officials said a meeting had not yet been scheduled.

Levin noted that Obama expressed support for doubling an Energy Department loan program for automakers to develop fuel-saving technology to $50 billion from $25 billion.

The senator said he and members of Michigan’s congressional delegation would pursue several funding options to help the industry, including the $700 billion Wall Street bailout or access to capital from the Federal Reserve.

Obama’s victory over Republican John McCain came just three days before General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are to release their third-quarter results, which almost certainly will show billions in losses and cash burn rates that will push the companies closer to emptying out their treasuries if auto sales don’t bounce back soon.

Further cuts by both automakers are expected on Friday, and GM’s top executives sent an e-mail to other executives Wednesday saying "important changes" will be announced just after the quarterly results are made public payday advance loan.

Spokesman Tom Wilkinson called the announcement a routine update. The e-mail did not give specifics, and Wilkinson said he could not comment on them.

Industry analysts expect GM and Ford to make further factory job cuts to match an ever-dwindling U.S. market.

Analysts say GM could close more plants, but Ford said it likely will do temporary factory shutdowns and overtime cuts at some of its car plants.

GM is talking with Chrysler majority owner Cerberus Capital Management LP about GM acquiring Chrysler. GM reportedly is after Chrysler’s roughly $11 billion cash stockpile and is seeking federal aid to make the deal happen.

Automakers and their congressional allies say some sort of government funding is necessary to bail out the troubled industry. They have been lobbying to speed up loans from the $25 billion Energy Department pot (the department late Wednesday said it planned to distribute the money by the end of the year), and for access to part of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan and perhaps other funding.

"What we need is to make sure that a vital industry like autos … which is such a big part of the overall economy, doesn’t lead us into a deeper and harsher downturn," Cerberus Chairman John Snow said Wednesday in an interview on CNBC. "The collapse of the auto industry at this time would be devastating for a new president."

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When people make sacrifices in a tough economy, they usually don’t start with their health.

That’s one reason the health care industry, if not exactly recession-proof, seems one of the best able to endure the economic downturn.

St. Louis’ growing medical sector includes the area’s largest employer, BJC HealthCare, with 23,500 workers. Not only are local hospitals not experiencing layoffs, many will continue to hire skilled workers, said Dave Dillon, spokesman for the Missouri Hospital Association.

"There’s always going to be a demand for health care," Dillon said.

During economic downturns, sales of prescription drugs and medical devices tend to hold up better than nonessential goods, noted David Wyss, chief economist of Standard and Poor’s.

"Generally, you’re looking for things that are necessities, not luxuries," Wyss said. "People get sick and need medical care regardless of the state of the economy."

But recent earnings show that drug makers aren’t immune from slumping sales that have plagued their peers in the retail and auto industries. Pfizer, which employs 1,200 people in its labs in the St. Louis area, said last month that U.S. sales of its best-selling product, the cholesterol drug Lipitor, fell 13 percent in the last quarter as some financially struggling patients stopped filling their prescriptions.

"The typical safe harbors (for investors) have been pharmaceuticals," said analyst Steve Brozak of WBB Securities. "They’re no longer safe; they’re now the least bad choice."

Pfizer and Schering-Plough Corp. were able to offset weak revenue in the U.S. with higher sales abroad. But other companies, such as Merck & Co. Inc., have been less successful. Merck said recently it will cut 7,200 jobs after reporting sales declines.

Experts say pharmaceuticals are more vulnerable to economic cycles because employers have shifted more of the financial burden for care to patients, with higher copays and deductibles.

"With consumers having more cost-sharing in their benefits, you’re going to see a greater effect on their health care spending right away," said Paul Ginsburg, President of the nonprofit Center for Studying Health System Change quick pay day loan.

That means more uninsured or under-insured patients seeking care through hospital emergency rooms and other safety-net providers. Between 2000 and 2005, 125,000 people in Missouri went off employment-based health insurance, said James Kimmey, president and CEO of the Missouri Foundation for Health.

"If the recession leads even more employers to back down a bit from their current coverage levels, it could increase the uninsured pretty fast," Kimmey said.

The lagging economy and rising unemployment have made it harder for health insurers such as UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Humana Inc. to raise prices to offset higher costs and investment losses.

Health care companies least affected are those that sell inexpensive medical products directly to hospitals, bypassing cash-strapped consumers.

Becton, Dickinson & Co. and Baxter International Inc., for example, reported sharp profit gains for the most-recent quarter and boosted their full-year earnings estimates. Becton Dickinson specializes in syringes and surgical tools; Baxter sells drugs to treat blood and immune disorders.

"The products they offer aren’t high-tech things," said Aaron Vaughn, an analyst with Edward Jones. "They are health care staples that people need."

A focus on lifesaving medicine also is expected to reward makers of high-priced biotech drugs.

Genzyme Corp. and Celgene Corp., for example, have built businesses around niche drugs for life-threatening diseases. Health care investment firm Leerink Swann gives both companies an "outperform" rating, along with peers Amgen Inc., Biogen Idec Inc. and Gilead Sciences Inc.

POST-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER BLYTHE BERNHARD CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT.

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Australia cut interest rates sharply on Tuesday, presaging expected reductions in Europe later this week, and EU leaders pressed for an overhaul of global market rules.

For investors, the worst financial crisis in 80 years has all but eclipsed Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election although the result may offer some relief with the promise of more fiscal stimulus.

Whether Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain wins, he will face a huge challenge in reviving the world’s largest economy, which is already contracting.

Australia’s bigger-than-expected 75 basis point rate cut followed cuts in the United States, China and Japan last week. Britain and the euro zone are expected to follow suit on Thursday with half point reductions, or maybe more.

The recession that authorities have tried to temper with trillions of dollars in bank bailouts, cash thrown into money markets and economic pump-priming measures, looms ever larger.

Australia’s central bank said there was “significant weakness” in major economies in explaining why it cut rates to 5.25 percent, the lowest since March 2005.

“Each of the big developed economies now is either in a severe recession or well on the way,” said Rory Robertson, interest rate strategist at Macquarie in Sydney.

EU REFORM CALL

European Union finance ministers, meeting in Brussels, backed proposals from the bloc’s French presidency for reforming oversight of global capital markets cash till payday advance.

The proposals feed into a summit of EU leaders on Friday to prepare for a world leaders gathering in Washington on November 15, which the president-elect is expected to attend.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded world leaders agree quickly on new rules for financial markets. “It mustn’t take years, it must be done in months,” she said in Berlin.

There is increasing evidence of a severe economic downturn.

Japan’s economy has joined much of the developed world in a recession, economists polled by Reuters say, with GDP seen contracting for a second consecutive quarter as the financial crisis hits exports and capital investment.

Underscoring slowing sales in the car sector, Germany’s BMW abandoned its 2008 earnings forecast and cut production after a 60-percent plunge in quarterly profit.

The woes facing the world’s biggest premium brand automaker followed the worst month in 25 years for the industry in the United States, BMW’s largest market, including big setbacks for General Motors and Ford. 

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Stocks rallied Thursday, as investors cheered news of easier credit and a report showing the economy shrank at a slower pace than expected in the third quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial average (INDU) gained 190 points, or 2.1%. The Standard & Poor’s 500 (SPX) index rose 2.6% and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) gained 2.5%.

All three major gauges had been higher in the early going, but the buying momentum eased a bit as the session wore on.

Stocks seem to be in the process of putting a bottom in place, said Gary Hager, founder and chief executive of Integrated Wealth Management, citing the recent bear market lows hit on Oct. 10.

Looking forward, he said "We’re still going to see significant swings, but the volatility should start to decrease once we get past the election and get through the end of the year."

Rate cuts: Stocks zigzagged Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates, as expected, and also issued a dour assessment of the economy. The central bank cut the fed funds rate, a key bank lending rate, by half a percentage point to 1.0%. That matched an all-time low for the rate last seen in June 2004.

In its statement, the central bank painted a bleak picture of the economy, touching on the lingering impact of the financial market crisis, the lack of available credit, and the erosion in consumer and business spending. The statement indicated the Fed could cut rates again if necessary.

But world markets rallied on the news, with Asian exchanges surging overnight and European markets up at the close. Hong Kong and Taiwan cut interest rates Thursday following the actions by the Fed, and by China earlier Wednesday. Speculation mounted that Japan would cut its key rate at a meeting this Friday.

The Fed has cut rates for more than a year in an attempt to help the struggling economy. The central bank has also made potentially trillions available to financial institutions as part of a broader attempt to calm roiling financial markets and get banks to start lending to each other again.

Lending has been improving slowly. On Thursday, the Fed said that the market for commercial paper grew last week, the first such expansion in nearly two months. Commercial paper is a critical form of short-term funding that companies rely on for their daily operations.

Lending rates: The credit market continued to improve, with Libor, the overnight bank-to-bank lending rate, falling to 0.73% from 1.14% Wednesday, according to Bloomberg.com. The 3-month Libor fell to 3.19% from 3.42% Wednesday. (Full story)

The TED spread, the difference between what banks pay to borrow from each other for three months and what the Treasury pays, narrowed slightly to 2.82% from 2.84% Wednesday. The spread hit a record 4.65% earlier this month. The narrower the spread, the more willing banks are to lend to each other.

The yield on the 3-month Treasury bill, seen as the safest place to put money in the short term, slipped to 0.4% from 0.57% late Wednesday, with investors preferring to take a piddling return on their money than risk the stock market.

Last month, the 3-month yield reached a 68-year low around 0% as investor panic hit its highest level.

Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note yield to 3.97% from 3.85% late Wednesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

GDP: Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation’s economy, fell at an annual rate of 0.3% in the third quarter after growing at a 2.8% rate in the second quarter.

The drop was not as bad as expected, with analysts having forecast that GDP would slump 0.5%. However, the decline was still the worst performance for the economy since the last recession 7 years ago. (Full story)

Company news: Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500), the oil services giant, reported a profit of $14.83 billion, the biggest quarterly profit in U.S. history. Shares rose modestly. (Full story)

But Exxon was an exception. With roughly 59% of the S&P 500 results out, profits are currently on track to have fallen 23.8% versus a year ago, according to the latest data from tracking firm Thomson Reuters.

Hartford Financial Services (HIG, Fortune 500) tumbled 51.6% after the life insurer reported a massive quarterly loss and also cut its full-year profit forecast.

Motorola (MOT, Fortune 500) warned that fourth-quarter profit would miss forecasts and said its troubled cell phone unit will continue to weaken next year. As a result, the company will delay its planned spinoff of that unit freecreditreport. The company will also cut 3,000 jobs as part of a restructuring. Motorola shares fell 5.3%.

Avon Products (AVP, Fortune 500) reported weaker-than-expected quarterly profit and warned that the impact of the recently stronger dollar will hurt fourth-quarter and full-year growth rates. Shares fell 15.4%.

In other company news, American Express (AXP, Fortune 500) announced that it will cut 7,000 jobs, or more than 10% of its staff, amid the ongoing credit crisis.

Dow component GM (GM, Fortune 500) slumped over 10% amid ongoing woes for the company and the auto sector. The governors of six states sent a letter to federal officials asking that they intervene to help the hard-hit domestic automakers. GM and Cerberus, the parent of Chrysler, are in talks about a merger, but need financing.

Also impacting the stock was GMAC, the troubled auto finance and mortgage lending company that’s 49% owned by GM. GMAC said it’s in talks with federal regulators to become a bank holding company, so that it can access government funds. Complicating matters further, Cerberus owns the other 51% of GMAC.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, advancers beat decliners by four to one on volume of 1.38 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, winners beat losers five to two on volume of 2.55 billion shares.

Other markets: The dollar fell against the euro and gained versus the yen.

U.S. light crude oil for December delivery fell $1.54 to settle at $65.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for December delivery fell $15.50 to settle at $738.50 an ounce.

Gasoline prices fell another 4 cents overnight, to a national average of $2.547 a gallon, according to a survey of credit-card activity by motorist group AAA. It was the 43rd consecutive day that prices have decreased. During that time, prices have fallen by $1.31 a gallon, or nearly 34%.

A good week, a brutal month: Stocks have bounced back this week, finding some momentum at the end of a wretched October. For the week, the S&P 500 is up 8.8% as of Thursday’s close.

But at the same time, investors pulled more money out of equity mutual funds than they did in the previous week, according to tracking firm Trim Tabs. The amount of money withdrawn from stock mutual funds in the week ended Oct. 29 rose to 9.2 billion from 6.5 billion the previous week.

Despite the recovery, October will go down in the history books as one of Wall Street’s worst months of all time.

As of Thursday’s close, the Dow had lost 1,670 points, the Dow’s worst month ever, according to Stock Trader’s Almanac info going back to 1901. On a percentage basis, the decline of 15.4% doesn’t rank in the top ten.

The S&P 500 lost nearly 212 points, or 18.2% in the month, and is currently on track to post its worst month ever on a point basis and ninth worst ever on a percentage basis, going back to 1930.

The Nasdaq dropped 384 points, or 18.4% in October, tracking its seventh-worst month ever on a point basis and its sixth-worst month on a percentage basis, going back to its inception in 1971.

October also brought lows that could constitute a market bottom, analysts say. However, bottoming out is a process. In the last bear market, stocks made lows in the summer of 2002, "retested the lows" in October 2002, and then retested them once more in March 2003 before finally making a sustained gain over the next few years.

The major gauges seem have hit a low on Oct. 10, when the Dow dipped below 7,900 and the S&P 500 fell below 840. The Nasdaq initially made a low on that same date, before retesting it a few weeks later and falling below 1,500. Stocks may need to fall back to those lows again before moving higher this time.

Although with the depth of the recession and the ongoing credit crisis, the stock market now is not likely to see an advance comparable to the more than 4-year bull market that followed the last bear market.

"Stocks are building a good base right now," said Will Hepburn, president and chief investment officer at Hepburn Capital Management.

He said that stocks will likely keep moving sideways in the short term, but could be setting up for a multi-month rally six months out as the economy begins to stabilize and banks start lending again.  

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Wal-Mart Stores Inc., with its emphasis on low prices and improved merchandise, is stealing market share from competitors and is well-positioned for the holiday season, CEO and President Lee Scott told investors Monday.

The company, nevertheless, is scaling back the growth of its namesake stores in the U.S. and focusing on remodeling existing locations as it responds to a tough consumer spending climate.

"It is clear in this environment that the customer is more cautious and more thoughtful about what they buy and they’re more thoughtful about when they buy it," Scott said in an address to analysts gathered on the first day of the company’s two-day investor meeting in Bentonville, Ark.

Nevertheless, he said, "We see this as an opportunity to widen our moat. … This is Wal-Mart time."

Eduardo Castro-Wright, president and chief executive of Wal-Mart’s U.S. division, told analysts that the company plans to open 191 stores in fiscal 2009 and from 142 to 157 stores in fiscal 2010. That compares to 218 stores opened in fiscal 2008.

As a result, capital expenditures will come in at $5.8 billion to $6.4 billion for fiscal 2009 and $6.3 billion to $6.8 billion in fiscal 2010. That’s down from the $9.1 billion the company had in capital expenditures in its last fiscal year.

Wal-Mart officials are expected to offer the capital expenditures forecast for the entire company on Tuesday.

Monday’s meeting featured addresses by merchandising executives who discussed how Wal-Mart will be emphasizing the price message in its advertising and in its stores this holiday season, while pushing for friendlier service, cleaner stores and faster checkout. Wal-Mart is rolling out Christmas shops, which feature wrapping paper and other decor, but will also be more aggressive in designating holiday gifts throughout the store.

Wal-Mart has found itself in the right spot as it pushes the right mix of merchandise and marketing to complement its renewed focus on price just as the economic slowdown worsened. The company has also focused on inventory management and has improved capital efficiencies http://paydayintime.com.

As a result, Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) shares, which had been in a funk for several years, rebounded starting in September 2007, rising about 50% to $64 in early September. However, the stock has lost about 17% of its value in recent weeks as the financial meltdown has intensified. Shares slipped $1.73, or more than 3 percent, to close at $49.67 on Monday, close to the low end of its 52-week range of $42.50 to $63.85 per share.

Meanwhile, cheap chic rival Target Corp. (TGT, Fortune 500) has fallen behind Wal-Mart because its heavy emphasis on nonessentials such as trendy clothes makes it more vulnerable to the spending slowdown. Target’s profits are also being squeezed amid rising delinquencies in store credit card payments. Its shares have lost half their value since a peak of about $70 in July 2007. They fell 23 cents to $32.69 on Monday, at the low end of the 52-week range of $63.86 to $30.45.

Wal-Mart officials noted that their company - considered a barometer of the pulse of the American consumer - continues to see firsthand how the mounting financial crisis, including tightening credit, is putting more strain on its shoppers. Castro-Wright noted that credit card payments as a percentage of total payments is down 7.4% so far in fiscal 2009. That means that customers are maxing out on their credit cards, says Castro-Wright. That’s a big reversal from the robust double-digit growth rates in credit cards over the past three year.

Wal-Mart noted that it’s focusing on expanding its store-label food business as shoppers look to save more money on their food bill amid soaring inflation. As part of the strategy, the company is reformulating 1,200 food items, including cold cereal, cookies and yogurt, from the 5,000 food items it tested to improve the taste. 

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Chrysler Canada says it is cutting its salaried, white-collar workforce by 25 per cent, or almost 240 jobs, as the downturn in the North American auto industry deepens.

In announcing a continent-wide reduction of staff and contract workers, the company’s Detroit-based parent said yesterday it would achieve the reduction through lucrative voluntary retirement incentives, buyout programs and layoffs during the next few months.

When the Canadian subsidiary completes the reduction, its salaried workforce will fall to about 700 – down 465 jobs or almost 40 per cent from five years ago.

Bob Nardelli, chair and chief executive officer for Chrysler LLC, said the "unprecedented decline" in the global auto industry meant the company needed to take the action to remain competitive.

Earlier this week, the company accelerated the closure of an assembly plant in Delaware and cut a shift at another plant in Ohio. Chrysler also slowed down output at its Windsor minivan complex this month by cutting one shift for two weeks and possibly three.

In the past five years, Chrysler Canada’s hourly-paid production workforce has dropped more than 1,000 jobs to 8,925. The company has eliminated a shift at its Brampton assembly plant and trimmed the Windsor workforce by a few hundred jobs.

Chrysler would not comment on how many contract workers it currently employs in Canada who also face an overall cut of 25 per cent.

People familiar with the latest incentive program said staff in the U.S. between 51 and 62 with 10 or more years of service who earn less than $100,000 annually can receive full retirement benefits and health-care credits. Selected staff between 53 and 62 who earn more than $100,000 can also qualify for full retiree benefits.

Furthermore, workers 60 or older with more than 10 years’ service can get $50,000 in cash, a $25,000 voucher for a new Chrysler model and 100 per cent in health-care credits internet payday loan.

The company will offer U.S. employees with less than 10 years of service a $50,000 cash buyout, a $25,000 vehicle voucher, plus six months of health care. Employees with more than 10 years’ service who aren’t old enough to qualify for the early retirement offer or incentives to leave the company can get $75,000 in cash, the vehicle voucher and six months of health care.

Chrysler spokesperson David Elshoff said employees in Canada will receive "equivalent value" offers.

If not enough workers accept, the company would then lay off staff.

General Motors of Canada Ltd. and Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. have also significantly reduced salaried workforces in recent years.

Cerberus Capital Management, Chrysler’s owner, is currently trying to find merger partners. Reports indicate Cerberus is talking to General Motors and has discussed the idea with Nissan and Renault.

Meanwhile, auto analysts expect the Canadian auto market will soon start sliding, in view of the major plunge south of the border in recent months. Despite U.S. turmoil, the Canadian auto market has improved almost 1.5 per cent this year.

"We question whether the Canadian market’s relative buoyancy will survive this fall," DesRosiers Automotive Consultants said in a note to clients earlier this month.

The decline in the U.S. market has cut vehicle and parts output here significantly. Canada exports more than 80 per cent of new vehicles and 60 per cent of parts to the U.S.

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DETROIT — The carnage in the ever-shrinking U.S. auto industry continues.

Chrysler LLC on Thursday announced it would cut 1,825 factory jobs. And General Motors Corp. trimmed some benefits and said it would make further white-collar cuts.

As the slumping U.S. economy speeds the industry’s slide, and tight credit cuts into sales, Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler said the jobs will be eliminated at the end of the year when it closes a Newark, Del., sport utility vehicle plant ahead of schedule and eliminates a shift at a Toledo, Ohio, Jeep plant.

At GM, senior managers sent a memo to executives Wednesday saying early retirement and buyout offers to white-collar workers had been well-received but that the company still would have to make involuntary layoffs.

More job cuts are likely if the U.S. auto sales volume continues to decline into 2009, said Laurie Harbour-Felax, president of the Harbour-Felax Group, a Detroit-area auto industry consulting company.

"If volume continues to fall through the tank as we go into 2009, then they’re going to be left with a whole bunch more people," she said.

If recent talk about a potential acquisition of Chrysler by GM comes true, even more job losses are likely, she said.

"The whole thing becomes somewhat scary of a concept to think about, more job losses, especially in Michigan," she said.

Chrysler’s job cuts Thursday amount to about 6 percent of its U.S. hourly work force. They include the indefinite layoff of about 825 workers at the Toledo North Assembly Plant, where the company makes the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro.

The Newark Assembly plant, where 1,000 people make Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen SUVs, originally was expected to shut down at the end of 2009, and its hastened closure puts in doubt whether the company will keep making the large truck-based SUVs.

Chrysler spokesmen wouldn’t say if production would be sent to another factory. They said, however, that a plant in Detroit was being retooled to make several sport utility vehicles.

The company said it would work with the United Auto Workers union to handle the layoffs in a "socially responsible manner." In the past, it has offered buyout and early retirement programs to workers affected by plant slowdowns and closures free credit report online.

Chrysler said in a statement that the changes will adjust inventory to better match consumer demand. Through the first nine months of the year, the company’s U.S. sales have fallen 25 percent from the same period last year, the largest decline of any major automaker. U.S. sales industrywide are down 13 percent from a year earlier.

The sales slump showed up on Daimler AG’s bottom line Thursday. Daimler’s third-quarter earnings release showed a $154.5 million operating loss for its 19.9 percent share of Chrysler, indicating that Chrysler lost about $772.5 million in the second quarter as its U.S. sales slumped.

Chrysler is privately owned and does not have to report its earnings, but issued a statement saying its second-quarter loss totaled $660 million when taking into account the differences between international and U.S. accounting standards.

Chrysler’s majority owner, New York private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, has been talking to GM, the combined Nissan Motor Co.-Renault SA and others about a possible sale or merger, or Chrysler could be sold in pieces to other companies, according to people briefed on the talks. The people have asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

Meanwhile, Cerberus has said it’s in talks with Daimler to buy the German company’s stake in the struggling U.S. automaker. On a conference call Thursday, Daimler Chief Financial Officer Bodo Uebber said those negotiations continue.

At GM, the company decided it will temporarily stop matching salaried employees’ 401(k) contributions as of Nov. 1, and it will suspend tuition reimbursement and adoption assistance programs at the end of this year.

Spokesman Tom Wilkinson would not say how many white-collar workers had accepted offers to leave, nor would he say if the company has a goal for reducing their ranks.

GM has reported losing $57.5 billion in the last 20 months, including a $15.5 billion loss in the second quarter. Its vehicle sales declined 18 percent in the first nine months of this year, and it is burning through $1 billion in cash per month.

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PepsiAmericas Inc. said Wednesday third-quarter profit rose 2% as the bottler of Pepsi beverages raised prices and sales climbed in Eastern and Central Europe.

Profit rose to $73.1 million, or 58 cents per share, from $71.5 million, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier. Results in the most recent quarter included 11 cents in charges.

Sales rose 12% to $1.33 billion from $1.18 billion, helped by acquisitions, currency benefits and higher pricing to help cover higher raw material costs. A lower tax rate also boosted results.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who usually exclude one-time items from their estimates, expected profit of 62 cents per share and sales of $1.30 billion.

"We successfully navigated what continues to be a challenging U advance america cash advance.S. environment through disciplined pricing, strong marketplace execution and effective productivity initiatives," Chairman and Chief Executive Robert C. Pohlad said.

Total U.S. pricing rose 3.2% to help cover higher raw material costs. Average net pricing rose 18.4% internationally, boosted by exchange rates, PepsiAmericas (PAS) said.

Total volume, or the number of cases sold either directly or indirectly to consumers, rose almost 8%.

For the full-year, the company expects adjusted earnings per share between $1.92 and $1.96. Analysts expect $1.93 for the year. 

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Speculation continued to swirl Monday that a deal for General Motors Corp. to buy Chrysler LLC from New York private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP could come soon.

Both sides have been talking for months, but the pace recently has increased. A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press Friday that officials were trying to work out a deal by the end of the month.

Cerberus wants out of the auto business. And as the credit markets have dried up, GM (GM, Fortune 500), worried about running too low on cash before the U.S. auto market rebounds, wants Chrysler’s currency stockpile.

The person said that the talks have advanced to the point where top executives of both companies have looked at a deal and asked for refinements. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are secret.

In August, Chrysler said it had accumulated $11.7 billion in cash and marketable securities as of June 30. That figure remains around $11 billion, the person said, despite the Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker’s U.S. sales being down 25% in the year through September, the largest decline of any major automaker.

Detroit-based GM is burning up more than $1 billion per month, with several analysts predicting it will reach its minimum operating cash level of $14 billion sometime next year. GM’s sales are down 18%, and the company has lost $57.5 billion in the past 18 months, although much of that comes from noncash tax accounting changes.

Chrysler’s money pile would help solve GM’s cash problem if credit remains unavailable 24 hour payday advances.

Both automakers have had to deny bankruptcy rumors in recent weeks, saying consumers won’t buy cars from a company that looks like it could go out of business.

According to the person familiar with the negotiations, the deal being discussed calls for Cerberus to hand over Chrysler in exchange for GM’s 49% stake in GMAC Financial Services. GM sold a 51% stake in its finance arm to Cerberus in 2006.

Cerberus also would get an equity stake in GM, hoping to get a good return should GM recover when U.S. auto sales bounce back from a serious slump.

Other automakers, including the allied companies of Renault SA (RNO) and Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY), also are in discussions about Chrysler, the person said. Simultaneously, Cerberus, which bought 80.1% of Chrysler from Daimler AG (DAI) in a $7.4 billion deal last year, is negotiating to acquire Daimler’s 19.9% stake.

GM and Cerberus are still a long way from a deal, according to the person, and GM’s board reportedly is cool to the idea.

All that GM, Chrysler and Cerberus have said about the negotiations is that automakers meet all the time. Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said Thursday the auto sales drop has created an environment that favors consolidation. 

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But the changes are only temporary, intended to restore confidence and help ease the credit crunch.

On Tuesday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. offered to insure all bank deposits in non-interest-bearing deposit transaction accounts through Dec. 31, 2009 (banks would have to pay a fee to offer the insurance, intended primarily for payment-processing accounts used by small businesses). Also, back on Oct. 3, Congress raised the basic FDIC coverage on all bank accounts from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor per institution.

But — nobody who has written to me seemed to realize it — this $250,000 insurance limit reverts to $100,000 after Dec. 31, 2009.

"This is even the case for customers who set up long-term certificates of deposit," explained David Barr, an FDIC spokesman. Opening a 15-month or longer CD for more than $100,000 today won’t extend the insurance limit beyond $100,000 after year-end 2009.
Similarly, the basic insurance limit on National Credit Union Administration protection was raised to $250,000 but goes back to $100,000 after Dec. 31, 2009.

With FDIC and NCUA coverage, you can combine account registration categories (such as single and joint accounts, retirement and trust accounts) to protect well in excess of $250,000. For specific rules, the latest information (which can change quickly), and to make sure your bank or credit union is insured, check with the FDIC at 1-877-275-3342 or at www.fdic.gov, or with the NCUA at 1-800-755-1030 or www.ncua.gov. Both FDIC and NCUA are government agencies backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

The FDIC also insures "brokered CDs," which are certificates of deposit issued by member banks but sold through brokerage houses. When buying a brokered CD, "make sure you know from which bank it is, whether the bank is FDIC insured and whether you already have existing deposits with that bank" that may push you beyond the insurance limit, said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate fast cash advance loan.com.

With the higher $250,000 limit, "an investor needs to buy only from four banks to get $1 million of FDIC insured money," said Tom Ricketts, CEO of Incapital, a global investment banking firm (but remember the higher limit is good only through Dec. 31, 2009).

Also, when calculating your insurance limit, you must total all identically registered accounts you own in the same bank, cautioned Lewis Altfest, a certified financial planner in New York City. Some readers believed incorrectly they could open an unlimited number of accounts at one bank as long as each account had a different account number and was under the insurance limit.

Another temporary protection is the government backing of money market mutual funds. The U.S. Treasury is guaranteeing the $1-dollar-a share price of any publicly offered eligible money market mutual fund that pays a fee to participate in the guarantee program.

All major money market funds, including those from fund giants Fidelity, Vanguard and T. Rowe Price, are participating. Investors cannot choose or decline to participate. Coverage is limited to the number of shares an investor owned as of the market close on Sept. 19.

The program will run until Dec. 18. The Secretary of the Treasury has the authority to renew it up through Sept. 18, 2009. For additional information, check the Treasury’s website, www.ustreas.gov, particularly the frequently asked questions at www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp1163.htm.

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