Economix Blog: Weekend Business Podcast: European Debt, a Tax Plan and General Motors

It’s been a difficult three months for the financial markets, and the global economy is weak. Unfortunately, more problems are probably on the way.

A resolution of the Greek financial crisis is not in sight. Approval of new powers for a stopgap bailout fund depends on the approval of all 17 members of the euro zone, and Finland, Germany and Austria all gave a thumbs-up in the last several days, as I write in the Strategies column in Sunday Business. But in a conversation in the new Weekend Business podcast, Floyd Norris says that many other countries still need to vote, and that even if they approve the strengthening of the fund, further remedies for Greece — requiring many further votes — will undoubtedly be required. The global economy, meanwhile, appears to be losing steam.

The United States has not come up with a solution for its fiscal problems yet, and many Republicans in Congress are opposed to raising taxes. In a separate conversation, and in the Economic View column in Sunday Business, Tyler Cowen, the George Mason University economist, says that a tax increase is inevitable sooner or later. If it doesn’t come as part of a “grand bargain” to reduce the deficit, he says, it will be forced on the United States later on — so it’s best to try to come up with a reasonable solution now.

And in his new book, “Once Upon a Car,” Bill Vlasic says G.M.’s plight in 2008 was so serious that it contemplated a merger with its cross-town rival, Ford. That merger didn’t take place, of course, but in a conversation with David Gillen, he says that it was actually proposed in a meeting between the leaders of the two companies. An article adapted from Mr. Vlasic’s book appears on the cover of Sunday Business.

You can find specific segments of the podcast at these junctures: Floyd Norris (30:27); news headlines (18:47); Bill Vlasic on G.M. (14:45); Tyler Cowen (6:50); the week ahead (1:30).

You can download the program by subscribing from The New York Times’s podcast page or directly from iTunes.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=430c32c0928baac81e71fef70edf1d50