Obama links auto industry woes, financial overhaul (AP)

President Barack Obama on Saturday cited encouraging signs of an auto industry rebound as he promoted stronger financial rules that he said would help prevent a repeat of the crisis that pushed carmakers to the brink.

Michael Johnston submits:After struggling just to survive for much of 2009, the U.S. automotive industry is showing surprising signs of life in early 2010, as surges in foreign demand and better-than-expected domestic results give the struggling sector a boost. While it’s far too early to tell if the turnaround will be sustainable or is simply a blip on the radar, recent developments have investors revisiting a sector that was once left for dead.

On Saturday, Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy Asked For a Eurozone Fiscal Authority, in effect the "Fiscal Nannyzone" that I have spoke of on numerous occasions.

Even as General Motors and the entire U.S. auto industry teeters on the edge of collapse, its major rivals are hardly celebrating. Toyota and other Japanese carmakers say the bankruptcy of any of Detroit's Big Three would spell serious trouble for them as well.