It's Only Money

China -- actually a single Chinese very high roller -- has bought the Hummer SUV brand for a paltry $150 million.

I'd say "Good riddance" except for the fact that the buyer says he will introduce a new model -- the H4 -- that will get 25 or more miles per gallon of gasoline.  Why couldn't GM have done that?

Don't ask.

Hummer's new owner is Suolang Duoji, a private entrepreneur who will personally hold 20 percent of the company.  The other 80 per cent will belong to Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery, which is owned by Sichuan Huatong Investment Holding Co, Ltd, which is owned by Sualong Duoji.

This sort of thing smacks of one of our superbanks, the too big to fail outfits that we bailed out so they could continue to run the country by pulling the strings on Tim Geithner and Barack Obama.

And sure enough, Morgan Stanley is a financial adviser to GM during its restructuring. Morgan Stanley acknowledges receiving $10 billion in the first go-around of TARP (i.e., bailout) funds.

Morgan Stanley's  "advice" to GM seems to have been, "Give away the store."

We gave 'em $10 billion for this?