On this episode of Millionaire or Bust, we cover the week after the US election (which also happened to be a one week trip up to the Yosemite area for us). The financial markets were pretty volatile again this week. So, we had to discuss that volatility a little bit. We also touched on the current mortgage rates.

Of course, we had to mention that GM closed under $3 for the first time since 1946 and had their lowest close since WWII. We talked a little about what they were trying to do about it, what the government is thinking about doing to help them and the stance of the UAW on concessions.

Unlike General Motors, not all companies are suffering. Both Walmart and McDonalds reported increases in sales. We discussed why that was and who it was at the expense of.

We also discussed how U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Friday that recapitalizing banks would be the most effective use of a $700 billion financial bailout war chest rather than the purchase of “toxic” assets held by the banks.

Speaking of the financial bailout, the Fed OK’d American Express being reclassified as a bank holding company in order to make them eligible to receive bailout funds.

Then, despite signals from OPEC that it may slash production again, the price of oil continued to decline. That of course has been accompanied by the continued fall of gas prices, which has been welcome to consumers.

Finally, we discussed the Commerce Department’s Friday report that we had the largest ever October plunge for retail sales and a sharp drop in business inventories.

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 MOB #64 - GM vs McDonalds During the Financial Crisis [26:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download