Nothing 'easy' about this summer.

• Author: Heffes, Ellen M.
• Position: Editorial

"Summertime, and the livin' is easy," go the lyrics to the 1935 George and Ira Gershwin tune. But it sure doesn't seem easy here in 2009--even though it is summer!

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Much uncertainty still surrounds the domains of business and finance, although general optimism has come off its recent lows. And, while change is supposed to be the norm--something we all should be well used to by now--the changes in the business and finance communities occurring before our eyes are nothing short of astounding.

Who would've thought that we would witness the bankruptcy of stalwart General Motors Corp.? Of course, we've been watching the drama play out for years now--high legacy costs, manufacturing profitable SUVs and small trucks with rising fuel prices, limited innovation to take share from foreign automakers, etc. But, to see the 101-year U.S. manufacturer go bankrupt is startling. Stay tuned, however, as books will no doubt be written about the life, death and hopefully rebirth of this American icon.

Books will also likely detail how the United States' government--uh, you and I, supposedly--now owns more than half of whatever is to become of this company, via a process that practically wiped out shareholders and bondholders (generally among the favored debtors in a bankruptcy) by changing the rules on those investors midstream. Not sure how this will help our nation's recovery from the current economic maelstrom. But, we are the U.S. of A, and we are amazing--and known to be innovative--so I plan on being optimistic!

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As if businesses don't have enough to deal with climbing out of the recession, the Obama administration's new tax proposals, announced in May, aim to make sweeping changes to the family of international tax rules known as "deferral." Characterized by Ronald Dickel, Alcoa Inc.'s vice president, tax, as "the tax issue of our generation," the current proposal, he says, "isn't...