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My first article today was named "Microsoft ordered to pay $388 million in patent case" which talked about the case between Microsoft and Uniloc. Uniloc claimed back in 2003 that Microsoft infringed on their patent for anti-piracy software  in Microsoft's Windows XP operating system and parts of its Office suite of products. The software generates unique identities for licensed users and prevents unauthorized use of or copying of programs. The damages award goes down as one of the largest on record for patent law disputes.

Assuming the correctness of this verdict, I plainly praise the American system for this triumph over big business. For years Microsoft has nearly had monopoly over the software industry and it seems has done everything in its power to keep it that way. With all the other negative things in our country right now like the economy and foreign disputes, I enjoyed stepping back and appreciating what our American system is capable of doing, which most other countries can not brag of: Uniloc, a small, almost unheard of company, wrenching over a third of a trillion dollars from one of the biggest companies in our country. 

The second article I read was called "Auto parts shares jump as GM, Chrysler launch aid". This article was about the effectiveness of government-backed assistance programs for parts suppliers have had. The government as pledged up to 5 billion to help auto suppliers, and will give 2 billion to GM to support suppliers, and 1.5 billion to Chrysler. The success of these types of programs determines the kind of restructuring these huge businesses will have to endure in order to survive the recession, with GM teetering on bankruptcy and Chrysler creating an alliance with the Italian car-maker Fiat. Germany has boosted car sales by introducing a car scrap program, such as the one proposed but denied in the U.S. The only place seemingly immune to this auto-industry meltdown in China, where vehicle sales for March could hit a record high.

Its good to hear that at least one of the gambles the government used with our tax money may help to spur recovery and help the economy rally. I was skeptical about this huge government spending plan at first, but now feel like its preventing a lot of excess damage to the economy. What I am worried about still though, is that now with the government having huge stakes in these companies, what's their plan for eventual withdrawal? Do they even have one? Or are they planning on overseeing these industries for ever? I hope not, because I feel like that could hurt the ability of these companies to take normal industry risks.

My third article is called "GM stock drops, Nissan posts losses amid downturn", which was about the huge drop in GM shares. They dropped to the lowest level since the Great Depression after the executives of the company reported selling their stocks. Also, Nissan posted a fourth-quarter loss and forecasts a bigger-than-expected annual loss. Meanwhile, Chrysler is going through the bankruptcy process, selling its assets to Fiat, a union-trust, and U.S. and Canadian governments. This will come with a lot of plant closings.

It seems to me now that all the government bailout for the auto-companies might have only helped to a point. If GM goes bankrupt with nobody buying its assets then what is going to happen to all their employees? They won't be getting jobs from Chrysler because they'll be closing off plants and not opening any. However, at least a good portion of the suppliers and lenders who stood to lose their jobs didn't.