I’m quite suprised that it’s late Sunday night and I haven’t seen a breaking news story from Capital Hill saying “Big Three Automakers have secured their bridge loans“, bailout loan, or whatever else their lobbyists want to call it.

Perhaps this is a good sign since most of the government backed bailout loans have been announced on Sunday evening, so perhaps no bridge loans will be approved..  Then again, I’ve misjudged Washington’s ability to do something stupid multiple times in my life.  Why should this one be any different?

Best reads from around the web.

The Consumerist:  Auto Makers Going Out Of Business, But Still Have Enough Money To Lobby Congress. This one really sticks in my craw (pardon the southern expression) considering the Big Three still can’t come up with an accurate estimate on how much money they will need in 2009.  Don’t think they won’t be back for more “must have” bridge loans.

NPR:  Treasury’s 4.5 Percent Mortgage Plan Analyzed.  NPR serves up a decent synopsis of Ben Bernanke’s plan to push new buyer mortgage rates to 4.5%.  In my opinion, I don’t think the plan will prop up housing prices, but simply encourage new buyers to come in and buy up excess inventory.  Maybe I should rethink my investment in apartment based REITs!

My Money Blog:  Use Your Inactive Credit Cards At Least Once A Year.  Jonathan has a good discussion going about credit card companies reducing their risk tolerance (my theory) as credit card companies are beginning to cancel inactive or lesser used credit cards.  I personally had one of my credit card spending limits reduced this month, so I can certainly relate to the frustration even though it was a non-issue for me.

Generation X Finance:  Prepare for an Increase in Mutual Fund Expense Ratios.  Jeremy paints a pretty bleak mosaic of negativity for mutual fund investors.  Maybe I have a tainted view of the subject since I’m an active investor, but I’m hoping the recent downturn in the market will prompt more investors to take a more active role in their finances and not blindly throw money away to a high priced mutual fund.

Moolanomy: Should You Repair Old Appliance Or Buy A New One?  When I think of a prototypical money hacker article, I imagine it would look like this one.  Pinyo’s done his homework on researching a major repair job versus buying a new appliance, and it’s one that every homeowner has likely happened to them at least once in their lives.  Good stuff here, as well as a good template for anyone trying to decide upon repairing old and broken versus investing in new appliances.

Carnivals

I participated in only one carnival this week at Ask Mr. Credit Card.  Checkout some of the best Money Hackers articles from the web this week.

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