Aftermath of Chrysler Bankruptcy

Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal lead with the details and implications of the Chrysler bankruptcy filing. The Journal casts doubt on the automaker's capacity to exit bankruptcy quickly, considering it's already being forced to idle four plants and its dealers are struggling to secure new sources of credit. On the bright side, the New York Times explains why the bankruptcy could help the government reshape General Motors (GM). While GM's more complex situation proves far more daunting to the president than smaller Chrysler's, the hard line he took with Chrysler this past week may have set a firm tone that could make the restructuring easier.

Citigroup (C) may need to raise up to $10 billion in capital, according to the Wall Street Journal. The figure stems from conversations prompted by the government's assessment of Citi and other banks' finanicial health in the bank stress tests, the results of which will be released on Thursday. Still, the need for capital is not cause for alarm according to the government, says the article: "Concerned about investor and depositor panic, government officials have said banks needing more capital should not be viewed as being at risk of collapse. In fact, the government has said it would not allow any of the 19 banks undergoing the test to fail."

While investors were jittery this week over the potential fallout from the H1N1 virus, it seems that the markets have shaken the flu bug, according to the Washington Post: "By the end of the week, the peso had recovered slightly and oil prices had climbed to five-week highs. Many of the hammered U.S. stocks—Starwood Hotels (HOT) and cruise operator Carnival (CCL), for example—had recovered at least some of their losses. At the same time, big pharmaceutical companies and small biotech firms gave back some of their gains."

Washington Post also recaps billionaire investor Warren Buffett's latest proclamations, a day after the annul Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) shareholders meeting. Berkshire had its worst year yet with Buffett at the helm, with profit down 62 percent from last year. The Oracle of Omaha had no predictions as to how quickly the markets might improve, but Buffett had good things to say about the decisions made by U.S. officials in past months in their efforts to right the economy. "Overall, I commend the actions that were taken," he said.

The New York Times profiles Mark A. Walsh, the former head of the global real estate group at Lehman Bros. Walsh made billions of dollars in loans and equity investments in the years before Lehman's implosion, which helped bring down the bank. 

Also from the New York Times: an investigation into the private student loan market, which is poised to grow, thanks to the economic downturn. As other college financing options like 529 plans have shrunk, loans are more and more popular, although securing a safe one can be tricky in an industry where "financial fog and fine print reign."