AOL Money & Finance

Should General Motors file for bankruptcy?

Yesterday, Peter Cohan asked the question, will General Motors (NYSE: GM) file for bankruptcy? He speculated that it could happen this week.

I'm not smart enough to speculate about a timeline, but I've been saying for as long as I can remember that, ultimately, General Motors will end up in bankruptcy. I've been trashed for that opinion, and while the company has steadfastly denied that bankruptcy is even a possibility, intelligent observers see it very differently.

The New York Times recently explored the issue of whether bankruptcy is the best option for the company, and hedge fund king William Ackman said that it is. He told Charlie Rose that a bailout is not the solution as long as the company is still operating outside of the bankruptcy court as that would mainly help GM's creditors who would be the ones really getting the taxpayers' money. "That's not a solution to the problem."

Bankruptcy is the best option for GM. The company's equity is worthless anyway, and a bankruptcy filing will give the company the opportunity to get rid of its debt. If the federal government wants to help GM's employees avoid a disastrous fate, they can do that with more leverage within the bankruptcy process.
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Last updated: November 10, 2009: 10:49 PM

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