Tuesday morning headlines

Stocks taking hit: Just a lot of nervousness about the state of the global economy. The Dow is off 250 points in early trading.

Carmakers make pitch: This is the day when GM and Chrysler are supposed to submit huge restructuring plans in order to justify a $13.4 billion loan package from the feds. Much of the attention is focused on GM, which is trying to gain concessions from the UAW. From the NYT:

The plan will outline in considerable detail, over as many as 900 pages, how G.M. will further cut its work force, shutter more factories in North America and reduce its lineup of brands to just four, from eight, according to executives knowledgeable about its contents. The remaining core brands will be Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick. But G.M.’s plan to shrink its way to profitability will not mean much without an agreement with the U.A.W. On Monday, G.M. pressed union leaders in a meeting in Detroit for a deal on financing what was the centerpiece of the 2007 U.A.W. contract — a perpetual, G.M.-financed trust to cover health care costs of hundreds of thousands of retired hourly workers and their surviving spouses.

Geithner's change of heart: A pretty amazing story in the WashPost on how the Treasury Secretary pulled back at the last minute on a long-awaited - and long-prepared - plan to overhaul the banking system. Geithner came to the conclusion that the plan was too expensive, too complex and too risky for taxpayers.

The sharp course change was one of the key reasons why Geithner's plan -- his first major policy initiative as Treasury secretary -- landed with such a thud last Tuesday. Lawmakers, investors and analysts expressed dismay over the lack of specifics. Markets tanked, and fresh doubts arose about the hand now steering the country's financial policy. Public acceptance of the plan suffered from several missteps, said sources involved in the decision-making or in close contact with those who were.

The Obama administration, they said, failed to rein in the grand expectations built for the plan on Wall Street and in Washington, concluding that they would rather disappoint the markets with vagueness than lay out a lot of details they might have to change later -- a failing they saw in the Bush administration's handling of the crisis. Meanwhile, the sources said, Obama's senior economic advisers were hobbled in crafting the plan by a shortage of personnel. To date, the president has not nominated any assistant secretaries or undersecretaries at the Treasury, and the handful of mid-level staffers who have started work were still finding their offices and getting their building passes and BlackBerrys.

More drama in Sacto: The leader of the state Senate says he's confident that one more Republican vote can be found to pass the $41 billion plan to close the budget deficit. That would make three Republicans, enough to win a two-thirds vote. The Assembly appears to have the votes. (AP)

Trouble in Silicon Valley: Seems hard to imagine, but a new report finds that the area's social services network is outdated and “frayed,” and that a patchwork of educational and social programs will fail to meet the needs of the area when the recession is over. (NYT)

SAG resumes bargaining: The Screen Actors Guild and the group representing the studios and networks will meet for the first time in several months – and without the guild's ousted executive director, Doug Allen. His supporters are expected to picket outside the offices where the talks will take place. (Variety)

Ticketmaster holders sue: They allege that the the company’s executives exploited a downturn in the company’s share price and secured benefits for themselves outside of the deal. (LABJ)

Lacter on radio: This morning's business chat with KPCC's Steve Julian covers the impact of the state budget impasse and a new plan to revive the local economy. Also at kpcc.org and on podcast.