This past weekend signaled the end of an era in American capitalism with the two remaining US Investment Banks changing their status under SEC rules.   Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will formally shift themselves into Bank Holding Companies capable of taking deposits.   The move, approved by the SEC in the hopes of stabilizing the debilitated finance markets, will place these two Wall Street giants under much more stringent government regulations - the same regulations that preserved the majority of commerical banks in this country like Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and, so far, Citigroup, while storied invesment banks like Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns were either acquired by their commercial banking counterparts or disappeared entirely after making too many risky moves and losing the confidence of the marketplace.

After having lived in New York City for more than a decade, I find this turn of events almost unbelievable.   If you had asked me 5 years ago what was the most stable, prominent and lucrative company to work for in the world I would have probably said Goldman Sachs, the Rolls Royce of investment banks.   To see these institutions on Wall Street voluntarily subjecting themselves to more government regulation to ensure their survival is simpy astonishing.

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The Bear roars once again on Wall Street as two of the largest investment banks in the United States have failed. After a weekend of intense negotiations with the Federal Government and other investment houses slated as potential buyers, troubled brokerage house Lehman Brothers has announced it will file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection after its fellow financial institutions all said “Thanks, but no thanks” to acquiring the doomed company. Across town, Merrill Lynch will meet with a somewhat better, having agreed to be acquired by Bank of America in a deal worth roughly $50 million.

All I have to say is that I leave New York for two weeks and the whole place goes to pot. Both of these companies managed enormous amounts of capital and seemed as untouchable, in the eyes of a lay-observer such as myself as any organization in the world.   Their swift declines, with hardly a moments notice, are a grim reminder of the historically volatile economy we’re facing.  

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The largest solar rooftop on the planet is being installed by none other than American automotive giant General Motors. The company announced on Tuesday that it plans to install the biggest rooftop solar photovoltaic power installation on Earth on top of its car assembly plant at Figueruelas, Zaragoza, Spain. The installation will cover over 2 million square feet of space with renewable electricity producing photovoltaic cells on 85,000 solar panels.

Partnering with Clairvoyant Energy, Veolia Environmental and the Government of the Spanish state of Aragon, GM will produce over 12 MW at peak output on the Zaragoza rooftop using United Solar Ovonic thin laminate panels - enough to power over 4,500 households per year. GM already operates two of the largest solar power installations in the United States at its plants at Fontana and Rancho Cucamongo, California. The latter facility powers 50% of its electricity by the solar installation.

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“As GM goes, so goes the nation.” the old adage goes. So perhaps it’s not surprising that with the United States economy teetering on a precipice amidst record high oil prices, that Merrill Lynch analysts described a General Motors bankruptcy as “not impossible” yesterday. The Wall Street investment bank said that the American automaker could need to raise up $15 Billion in capital to stay solvent should the auto market continue to slump. In accompanying news GM’s share price slumped to a 54-year low on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday.

Honestly, I’m having a hard time feeling bad about this. GM is now experiencing what’s commonly known as a market correction. The company that for years pushed big, boxy, unconscionably low mileage SUVs onto the American market and stifled any sort of innovation whatsoever when it came to fuel efficiency in their cars is now getting the brunt of what analysts for years have been predicting; increased demand and declining supply in the oil market. Who could miss the GM of today? Gone is the ‘57 Chevy and the other dream cars of America’s postwar boom with their gorgeous tailfins and brilliant designs. In their place we’re given gas guzzler boxes with lower average mileage than even Chinese automakers produce.

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