Asian economic outlook ‘bleak’ for 2009

Customers buy vegetables at a market in Quezon City in suburban Manila, Philippines, on September 16.
Asia’s economic growth will tumble to the slowest pace since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report released Tuesday.

“The short term outlook for the region is bleak as the full impact of the severe recession in industrialized economies is transmitted to emerging markets,” said Jong-Wha Lee, acting chief economist for the ADB. The Asian Development Outlook 2009 forecasts that economic growth in developing Asia will slip to 3.4 percent in 2009, down from 6.3 percent last year and 9.5 percent in 2007. Growth could improve to 6 percent in 2010, if the global economy experiences a mild recovery next year, the report says. “The concern for the region, and especially for the region’s poor, is that it is not yet clear that the [United States], European Union and Japan will recover as soon as next year,” Lee said. The slowdown should prompt Asian countries to expand their economic base and not be as dependent on exports, according to the report. Despite the downturn, the report says Asia is in a much better position to cope with the current crisis than it was in the late 1990s. “Large foreign currency reserves and steadily declining inflation rates will provide policymakers with the necessary tools to nurse their economies through the hard times ahead,” the report said.

A number of Asian governments, including China, Japan and South Korea, have already responded quickly to the global financial crisis with stimulus packages and changes in monetary policy, helping to stem some of the downturn. In November, China announced plans to inject $586 billion (4 trillion yuan) into its economy to offset declines in industrial and export growth. That economic stimulus plan included the loosening of credit restrictions, tax cuts and massive infrastructure spending.

Share

Yemeni held at Guantanamo since 2001 to be released

Ayman Saeed Batarfi has been held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since late 2001.
A Yemeni man held by the U.S. military since late 2001 is to be released from custody at the Guantanamo Bay military prison after the Obama administration asked a federal court Monday to postpone his pending case.

Still, the release of Ayman Saeed Batarfi, a doctor, will not be an easy matter, officials said. The “hard part” will be finding a country willing to take him, one Justice Department official told CNN. Batarfi, 38, is among the longest-serving suspected terrorists held in U.S. custody since the September 11, 2001, attacks, though his lawyers deny he is a terrorist. Batarfi was first held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and transferred to the Guantanamo prison in early 2002. His defense team contends he has been held there for years in virtual isolation, and forced to provide involuntary statements about his alleged terror activities. Though the Bush administration declared him an enemy combatant, alleging ties to al Qaeda, he has not been formally charged by the military. Batarfi claims he was assisting in the humanitarian relief effort in the Afghan-Pakistani border region, and not aiding the al Qaeda terror network. His attorneys had filed an appeal in federal court, asking the government to charge their client or release him.

Don’t Miss
Judge OKs inquiry against Bush officials

Obama rebukes Cheney criticism

U.S. may hand over Yemeni detainees to Saudis

In a motion filed Monday in federal court in Washington, the government sought a halt to all legal proceedings in Batarfi’s case. “The United States will initiate the appropriate diplomatic process,” said the government, “consistent with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States, to facilitate petitioner’s prompt transfer from Guantanamo Bay to an appropriate destination country.” No timetable was set for the Batarfi release. About 240 prisoners remain behind bars at Guantanamo, though President Obama has announced plans to close it within a year. The U.S. has struggled to find homes for some prisoners it has decided to release. Officials have said no prisoner will be sent to a country where they could be tortured. The case is Batarfi v. Gates (05-cv-409).

Share

Japan’s jobless rate rises to 4.4 percent

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in the Netherlands Monday for a conference on Afghanistan.
Japan’s unemployment rate jumped to 4.4 percent in February, reversing a decline seen the previous month, the government announced Tuesday.

“I believe that there will be an opening by this conference that will enable all the countries, including Iran, to come forward,” Clinton told reporters aboard her plane en route to The Hague for Tuesday’s conference. “The fact that they accepted the invitation to come suggests that they believe there is a role for them to play, and we’re looking forward to hearing more about that.” More than 80 countries and international organizations will be attending the conference, aimed at jump-starting political support for Afghanistan in the wake of the new U.S. strategy for the region, which President Obama announced last week. Clinton said she would be sharing the administration’s policy review during the conference. “We want to share the review in person with the friends and stakeholders in Afghanistan’s future and encourage them to begin thinking hard about what each can do to support governance, security, economic assistance, regional cooperation, all of the necessary steps that we have to see fulfilled,” she told reporters aboard her plane. Obama on Friday announced his decision to send an additional 4,000 troops to Afghanistan to increase training for the Afghan army and police force. They will be joined by hundreds of civilian specialists, such as agricultural experts, educators and engineers. The increase comes on top of an earlier announcement to send 17,000 additional troops to battle a re-energized Taliban insurgency. Clinton said while the Obama administration has received a “good initial response” to the new U.S. strategy, it was time to “turn to operationalizing and implementing how we’re going to create more capacity within Afghanistan, internationalize support for stability and security, and [achieve] our primary mission of disrupting, dismantling and defeating al Qaeda” in advance of an August election. Clinton said she would announce at the conference that the United States would pledge $40 million toward securing a free and fair election in Afghanistan. She said the U.S. would not support or endorse a candidate.

Don’t Miss
Afghan president praises Obama’s new war plan

Analysis: Americans wary about war in Afghanistan

Iran to send envoy to U.S.-backed Afghanistan summit

The Afghan supreme court ruled Sunday that President Hamid Karzai will remain in office until the election. Karzai’s term is up in May, but an independent commission has set the election for August 20. The court’s decision found that allowing Karzai to remain in power until that vote “is in the interest of the Afghan people and state, and it is also consistent with the spirit and interpretation of the constitution.” Karzai is Afghanistan’s first popularly elected leader in recent history. He was named head of a provisional government after the U.S.-led invasion that dislodged the Taliban in 2001, and he won an interim term in 2002 and a full term in 2004. He is seeking a new term in August. But his government has come under increasing criticism for corruption and inefficiency, and an earlier effort to move the elections up to April drew criticism from opposition groups and the United States. A major component of the new U.S. strategy involves a surge of civilian personnel to aid political reform, root out corruption and boost development. Clinton said the U.S. would seek to “quit the redundancy and the duplicity” of existing international aid programs in Afghanistan. The U.S. also would try to impose greater measures of accountability to “trace the investment and the payoff for the American taxpayers and for the people on the ground,” she said. “We recognize we’re starting at a point where there is very little credibility for a lot of what’s already been invested,” she said. “There are good programs within governments and good programs within NGOs [nongovernmental organizations], but it is fair to say overall they have been a disappointment. And we know that, and we’re going to have to try to get that fixed.” The U.S. strategy also emphasizes the need to combat extremism in western Pakistan. On Friday, Obama called for legislation authorizing “$1.5 billion in direct support to the Pakistani people every year over the next five years — resources that will build schools, roads and hospitals and strengthen” the Pakistani government. “It is absolutely essential that we look at Afghanistan in conjunction with Pakistan,” Clinton said. Japan will host a donor’s conference for Pakistan in April. Although the role of Tuesday’s conference was to seek political support rather than pledges for Afghanistan, Clinton said the United States wants “to encourage the participants to begin thinking hard about what their contributions will be.” Clinton said she has “no plans” to meet with Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akoundzadeh, who is attending the conference. But she left open the possibility, saying she would not predict how the discussions would flow. Although Clinton tried to keep the focus on Afghanistan, her attendance at the conference with a senior Iranian official marked the first such meeting involving the two countries as the Obama administration seeks greater engagement with Iran. Senior U.S. officials have said cooperation on Afghanistan could provide such an opening. Clinton noted Iran’s history of cooperating with the United States on Afghanistan since the U.S. invasion in 2001. In 2003, U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad held talks with Iranian officials in Geneva, Switzerland, about how the two countries could work together. She cited border security and counternarcotics efforts as two specific issues that “have a direct effect on Iran’s well-being.” “We are hoping that each neighbor, friend and stakeholder who is participating will have constructive ideas about what that country will do to try to help us achieve the security and stability goals that we’ve set for Afghanistan,” she said.

Share

Clinton doesn’t rule out Iran talks at Afghanistan conference

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in the Netherlands Monday for a conference on Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was coy Monday about whether she would meet Iranian delegates at an international conference on Afghanistan, and she urged Tehran to play a positive role in helping stabilize its neighbor.

“I believe that there will be an opening by this conference that will enable all the countries, including Iran, to come forward,” Clinton told reporters aboard her plane en route to The Hague for Tuesday’s conference. “The fact that they accepted the invitation to come suggests that they believe there is a role for them to play, and we’re looking forward to hearing more about that.” More than 80 countries and international organizations will be attending the conference, aimed at jump-starting political support for Afghanistan in the wake of the new U.S. strategy for the region, which President Obama announced last week. Clinton said she would be sharing the administration’s policy review during the conference. “We want to share the review in person with the friends and stakeholders in Afghanistan’s future and encourage them to begin thinking hard about what each can do to support governance, security, economic assistance, regional cooperation, all of the necessary steps that we have to see fulfilled,” she told reporters aboard her plane. Obama on Friday announced his decision to send an additional 4,000 troops to Afghanistan to increase training for the Afghan army and police force. They will be joined by hundreds of civilian specialists, such as agricultural experts, educators and engineers. The increase comes on top of an earlier announcement to send 17,000 additional troops to battle a re-energized Taliban insurgency. Clinton said while the Obama administration has received a “good initial response” to the new U.S. strategy, it was time to “turn to operationalizing and implementing how we’re going to create more capacity within Afghanistan, internationalize support for stability and security, and [achieve] our primary mission of disrupting, dismantling and defeating al Qaeda” in advance of an August election. Clinton said she would announce at the conference that the United States would pledge $40 million toward securing a free and fair election in Afghanistan. She said the U.S. would not support or endorse a candidate.

Don’t Miss
Afghan president praises Obama’s new war plan

Analysis: Americans wary about war in Afghanistan

Iran to send envoy to U.S.-backed Afghanistan summit

The Afghan supreme court ruled Sunday that President Hamid Karzai will remain in office until the election. Karzai’s term is up in May, but an independent commission has set the election for August 20. The court’s decision found that allowing Karzai to remain in power until that vote “is in the interest of the Afghan people and state, and it is also consistent with the spirit and interpretation of the constitution.” Karzai is Afghanistan’s first popularly elected leader in recent history. He was named head of a provisional government after the U.S.-led invasion that dislodged the Taliban in 2001, and he won an interim term in 2002 and a full term in 2004. He is seeking a new term in August. But his government has come under increasing criticism for corruption and inefficiency, and an earlier effort to move the elections up to April drew criticism from opposition groups and the United States. A major component of the new U.S. strategy involves a surge of civilian personnel to aid political reform, root out corruption and boost development. Clinton said the U.S. would seek to “quit the redundancy and the duplicity” of existing international aid programs in Afghanistan. The U.S. also would try to impose greater measures of accountability to “trace the investment and the payoff for the American taxpayers and for the people on the ground,” she said. “We recognize we’re starting at a point where there is very little credibility for a lot of what’s already been invested,” she said. “There are good programs within governments and good programs within NGOs [nongovernmental organizations], but it is fair to say overall they have been a disappointment. And we know that, and we’re going to have to try to get that fixed.” The U.S. strategy also emphasizes the need to combat extremism in western Pakistan. On Friday, Obama called for legislation authorizing “$1.5 billion in direct support to the Pakistani people every year over the next five years — resources that will build schools, roads and hospitals and strengthen” the Pakistani government. “It is absolutely essential that we look at Afghanistan in conjunction with Pakistan,” Clinton said. Japan will host a donor’s conference for Pakistan in April. Although the role of Tuesday’s conference was to seek political support rather than pledges for Afghanistan, Clinton said the United States wants “to encourage the participants to begin thinking hard about what their contributions will be.” Clinton said she has “no plans” to meet with Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akoundzadeh, who is attending the conference. But she left open the possibility, saying she would not predict how the discussions would flow. Although Clinton tried to keep the focus on Afghanistan, her attendance at the conference with a senior Iranian official marked the first such meeting involving the two countries as the Obama administration seeks greater engagement with Iran. Senior U.S. officials have said cooperation on Afghanistan could provide such an opening. Clinton noted Iran’s history of cooperating with the United States on Afghanistan since the U.S. invasion in 2001. In 2003, U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad held talks with Iranian officials in Geneva, Switzerland, about how the two countries could work together. She cited border security and counternarcotics efforts as two specific issues that “have a direct effect on Iran’s well-being.” “We are hoping that each neighbor, friend and stakeholder who is participating will have constructive ideas about what that country will do to try to help us achieve the security and stability goals that we’ve set for Afghanistan,” she said.

Share

California plant recalls 1 million pounds of pistachio products

Salmonella strains were found last week during routine test by Kraft Foods, one company that purchased the nuts.
A California food processing plant is voluntarily recalling up to 1 million pounds of roasted pistachio products that may have been contaminated with salmonella, the Food and Drug Administration announced Monday.

The nuts came from Setton Farms in Terra Bella, California, about 75 miles south of Fresno. They were largely distributed in 2,000-pound containers to food wholesalers who would then package them for resale or incorporate them as ingredients in other products, such as ice cream and trail mix. No illnesses have been linked to this case, said Dr. David Acheson, FDA’s associate commissioner. But salmonella strains were found last week during routine test by Kraft Foods, one of about three dozen companies that purchase pistachios from Setton Farms, he said. Kraft notified the FDA on March 24. Setton Farms did not immediately respond to CNN requests for comment. Acheson emphasized that unlike the recent case of salmonella-tainted peanut butter, this recall was not prompted by an sickness outbreak, saying the decision was a “proactive” move. He said the FDA has received two recent complaints, from the East and West coasts, from people who say they became ill after eating pistachio products, but a link to Setton Farms has not been confirmed, he said. The FDA is advising consumers not to eat any pistachio products, but not to throw them out, either, because additional recalls are likely and having products that could be turned in would allow for easier tracing of contamination. The agency is setting up a Web site to update the public. Dr. Jeff Farrar, head of the California health department’s food and drug division, said it’s likely that the roasted pistachios will be found in a wide variety of products. He noted that Setton Farms is the second-largest pistachio processor in the nation. Raw pistachios are roasted to a temperature that should kill salmonella, Acheson said. Because the roasted products tested positive for salmonella suggest cross-contamination with raw products. Acheson added that the Setton Farms recall is related to the one announced Friday by Kroger, a grocery store chain with stores in 31 states. Kroger recalled Private Selection shelled pistachios from its retail stores because of possible salmonella contamination. Kroger, in a statement Friday, said no illnesses have been reported in connection with the product. In February, Kroger was among retailers that recalled peanut products tied to the Peanut Corporation of America, a Virginia-based company accused by the FDA of knowingly selling peanut butter and peanut paste that was contaminated with salmonella. PCA’s peanut processing plant in Blakely, Georgia, is being investigated in connection with a salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 500 people and has been linked to eight deaths.

Share

Officials: Light, booming in sky likely falling Russian booster

A mysterious flash in the sky Sunday night may have been debris from the Soyuz spacecraft's booster.
The mysterious burst of light in the sky and loud booms witnessed Sunday night by residents along the Mid-Atlantic coastline was likely caused by a Russian rocket booster re-entering the atmosphere, said an official at the U.S. Naval Observatory.

The exact cause of the flash that caused hundreds of people to call the media, local authorities and the National Weather Service was still unknown Monday afternoon. But eyewitness accounts of the color, shape and timing of the light and sound had officials at the Naval Observatory confident of the phenomenon’s cause: the re-entry of orbiting space junk from the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that blasted off last week from Kazakhstan. “An object like this will have a pretty spectacular display when it enters the atmosphere,” said U.S. Naval Observatory spokesman Geoff Chester. Monday morning after the incident, Chester said he traced the rocket booster’s path and found it was hovering over Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, around the time people reported seeing the light. Sunday’s mysterious flash and booms also could have been a fireball, a natural phenomenon that occurs when a rock about the size of a suitcase slams into the earth. Naval Observatory officials say that scenario is unlikely in this case, since the space junk was already orbiting in the area.

Don’t Miss
Shuttle home after trip to space station

Space station won’t have to dodge satellite debris

Chester said the yellow, orange and iridescent green flashes reported by witnesses resemble both fireballs and burning space junk. “The visual reports are consistent with either case,” he said. “But the fact that a Russian rocket booster was passing through that area of the sky at the same time, it’s a pretty strong factor in my opinion to make that the culprit.” The timing of the light and sounds also indicates it was likely space debris. Chester said it usually takes up to a week for a rocket booster’s orbit to decay. The Russian spaceship was launched last Thursday. The booming sounds were likely noises from the explosion, he said. There are no reports of damage, weather officials say. Fragments of the object likely landed in the Atlantic Ocean. The likelihood of space debris hitting one’s home is pretty remote, Chester said, so residents don’t have to worry. The light and sounds, which shook houses, occurred between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. and could be seen and heard from southern Maryland to North Carolina, said Jeff Lewitsky, a forecaster for the National Weather Service Forecast office in Wakefield, Virginia. After receiving dozens of inquiries on Sunday night from concerned citizens, Lewitsky and his team analyzed the radar and satellite loops and determined the phenomenon wasn’t caused by weather. Lewitsky said his office has not had residents report such a sighting in the past 20 years. Officials have ruled out another possibility: The light was not likely a solar wind or flare, which is a burst of energy that travels from the sun, said a spokeswoman for the Space Weather Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Share

Biden, Central American leaders hold talks in Costa Rica

Vice President Joseph Biden arrives Sunday at an airport north of San Jose, Costa Rica.
Vice President Joseph Biden is meeting Monday with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and other Central American leaders to discuss U.S. aid to the area, the war on drugs and the global economic downturn.

Biden arrived Sunday from Chile, where he attended the Progressive Governance Conference. He met with seven Latin American and European heads of state at that two-day gathering. Biden will meet privately with Arias before they are joined by current or incoming heads of state from Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Panama, officials said. Honduras and Nicaragua will send deputy foreign ministers. The meeting comes ahead of this week’s Group of 20 summit in England that President Obama will attend. Biden made a short statement upon arrival in San Jose, where he was met by a Costa Rican delegation that included Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno. “This visit is an opportunity to meet leaders from the region and strengthen the existing ties between the United States and Central America,” Biden said. “This administration is looking for a productive and respectful relationship, and we know that type of relationship initiates listening to each other. That is why we are here. I expect to listen to and learn from President Arias and the other leaders with whom I will meet tomorrow.”

Don’t Miss
British prime minister says G-20 will rise to challenge

Biden meets leaders ahead of G-20 summit

Clinton: U.S. shares blame for Mexico drug violence

Stagno expressed optimism about the new Obama administration. “We think it’s opportune for the United States to have a positive agenda with Latin America,” Stagno said in a televised interview with CNN affiliate Teletica. “We need to turn the page on an agenda that was mostly negative.” Tomas Duenas, the Nicaraguan ambassador to the United States, said the agenda for Monday’s talks will include financial matters, economic development, human rights, security, immigration and other common areas with the United States and the region. Biden is scheduled to return Monday evening to Washington.

Share

Fishing boats sink off Libyan coast


Two fishing vessels carrying over 600 people sunk off the coast of Libya on Monday, according to Egyptian state television. It was not clear how many injuries or fatalities resulted from the incident.

Shortly after President Obama announced he would give Chrysler and General Motors time to “restructure in a way that would justify an investment of additional taxpayer dollars,” iReporters let their sentiments be known. “Flushing our money down the toilet,” opined one. “GM Motors Forget about them!” barked another. CNN senior political analyst David Gergen warned this might happen. Earlier this month, after Obama echoed the nation’s “outrage” over a report that AIG would dole out $165 million in bonuses, Gergen predicted the controversy would set the tone for future bailouts. Almost 80 percent of AIG belongs to U.S. taxpayers, and the insurance giant has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of government efforts to repair the economy. “I think the president is in an awkward position because he wants and he may need to continue bailing out big banks, big institutions, the car companies,” Gergen said at the time. “But there’s so much anger over this that people may say: ‘The hell with it. I don’t care what happens to these people. Let them go. They are abusing us. They’re taking our money and exploiting it,'” he said. Americans are split on Obama’s handling of problems facing the U.S. auto industry, according to a recent poll, but another poll firmly states that the nation is adamantly opposed to handing more money to the automakers. Watch Obama discuss his plan for the auto industry » The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll was conducted prior to the latest news that GM CEO Rick Wagoner will step down at the White House’s request. The poll also preceded news Monday that the Obama administration frowned on GM and Chrysler’s turnaround effort and was seeking massive overhauls of the companies.

Don’t Miss
Obama extends short federal lifeline to GM, Chrysler

GM’s ousted CEO eligible for $20M retirement package

General Motors CEO resigns as part of bailout deal

The poll, which had a sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percent, said 49 percent of respondents disapproved of Obama’s handling of the auto industry, compared to 46 percent who approved of the administration’s efforts. The poll was conducted March 12-15. The results presented a contrast to two questions posed last month, in which respondents said they were opposed to government assistance for car companies and overwhelmingly doubtful that auto executives could make the right decisions. “Americans tend to favor government assistance to individuals, such as homeowners in danger of foreclosure,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “But they don’t like the idea of federal money going to big institutions like automakers or banks.” Last month’s poll, conducted February 18-19 with a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percent, showed that 61 percent of Americans opposed giving money to the automobile manufacturers; 37 percent favored it. And 74 percent said they had little faith in auto executives; 26 percent said they felt executives would make sound economic decisions. In a Gallup poll conducted around the same time, seven in 10 people opposed an auto bailout. GM already has received more than $13 billion in federal assistance. Chrysler has taken about $4 billion. Last month, both companies asked for more. GM wanted $16 billion, and Chrysler requested $5 billion. Obama announced plans for the companies Monday. GM will have 60 days and Chrysler 30 days to prove they can be viable. They’re both promised loans if they can, and they’ll receive capital in the meantime. Chrysler, which the administration is pushing to partner with Italy-based Fiat, could receive up to $6 billion, but administration officials would not say how much money GM could receive. It’s unclear what will happen if the companies can’t prove themselves to be worthy of loans, but the Obama administration has said a structured bankruptcy is a possibility.

Though Obama’s approval rating earlier this month stood at 64 percent, the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll shows that Americans are far less enamored with the president’s performance in dealing with Detroit. “Obama’s policies toward banks and auto companies are the only areas on which he does not get majority approval,” Holland said. “On the other hand, the public has much more confidence in the Obama administration than in auto executives when it comes to making the right economic decisions.”

Share

Americans weigh in on Obama’s automaker bailout plan


Americans don’t favor handing billions more dollars to U.S. automakers, polls show. To some, it’s another example of government helping Wall Street instead of Main Street, but for others, it’s simply bailout burnout.

Shortly after President Obama announced he would give Chrysler and General Motors time to “restructure in a way that would justify an investment of additional taxpayer dollars,” iReporters let their sentiments be known. “Flushing our money down the toilet,” opined one. “GM Motors Forget about them!” barked another. CNN senior political analyst David Gergen warned this might happen. Earlier this month, after Obama echoed the nation’s “outrage” over a report that AIG would dole out $165 million in bonuses, Gergen predicted the controversy would set the tone for future bailouts. Almost 80 percent of AIG belongs to U.S. taxpayers, and the insurance giant has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of government efforts to repair the economy. “I think the president is in an awkward position because he wants and he may need to continue bailing out big banks, big institutions, the car companies,” Gergen said at the time. “But there’s so much anger over this that people may say: ‘The hell with it. I don’t care what happens to these people. Let them go. They are abusing us. They’re taking our money and exploiting it,'” he said. Americans are split on Obama’s handling of problems facing the U.S. auto industry, according to a recent poll, but another poll firmly states that the nation is adamantly opposed to handing more money to the automakers. Watch Obama discuss his plan for the auto industry » The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll was conducted prior to the latest news that GM CEO Rick Wagoner will step down at the White House’s request. The poll also preceded news Monday that the Obama administration frowned on GM and Chrysler’s turnaround effort and was seeking massive overhauls of the companies.

Don’t Miss
Obama extends short federal lifeline to GM, Chrysler

GM’s ousted CEO eligible for $20M retirement package

General Motors CEO resigns as part of bailout deal

The poll, which had a sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percent, said 49 percent of respondents disapproved of Obama’s handling of the auto industry, compared to 46 percent who approved of the administration’s efforts. The poll was conducted March 12-15. The results presented a contrast to two questions posed last month, in which respondents said they were opposed to government assistance for car companies and overwhelmingly doubtful that auto executives could make the right decisions. “Americans tend to favor government assistance to individuals, such as homeowners in danger of foreclosure,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “But they don’t like the idea of federal money going to big institutions like automakers or banks.” Last month’s poll, conducted February 18-19 with a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percent, showed that 61 percent of Americans opposed giving money to the automobile manufacturers; 37 percent favored it. And 74 percent said they had little faith in auto executives; 26 percent said they felt executives would make sound economic decisions. In a Gallup poll conducted around the same time, seven in 10 people opposed an auto bailout. GM already has received more than $13 billion in federal assistance. Chrysler has taken about $4 billion. Last month, both companies asked for more. GM wanted $16 billion, and Chrysler requested $5 billion. Obama announced plans for the companies Monday. GM will have 60 days and Chrysler 30 days to prove they can be viable. They’re both promised loans if they can, and they’ll receive capital in the meantime. Chrysler, which the administration is pushing to partner with Italy-based Fiat, could receive up to $6 billion, but administration officials would not say how much money GM could receive. It’s unclear what will happen if the companies can’t prove themselves to be worthy of loans, but the Obama administration has said a structured bankruptcy is a possibility.

Though Obama’s approval rating earlier this month stood at 64 percent, the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll shows that Americans are far less enamored with the president’s performance in dealing with Detroit. “Obama’s policies toward banks and auto companies are the only areas on which he does not get majority approval,” Holland said. “On the other hand, the public has much more confidence in the Obama administration than in auto executives when it comes to making the right economic decisions.”

Share