Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler, said that Chrysler plans to introduce a Fiat in the U.S. powered by natural gas. Bloomberg/Businessweek quotes Marchionne: "Natural gas engines offer a better way to cut emissions because they are cheaper than competing technologies."

Fiat is the leader in Europe in natural gas engines with 80% share of methane powered cars and 55% of light commercial vehicles. Alfredo Altavilla, quoted in Bloomberg/Businessweek said natural gas is a "more affordable solution" as it is less expensive to produce transport and distribute compared with other fuel sources.

Continue reading Fiat's Natural Gas vs. GM and Toyota's Electric Car

Fiat's Natural Gas vs. GM and Toyota's Electric Car originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Berstein upgraded Diamond Offshore (DO) to market perform from underperform based on valuation. The firm has a $69 price target on the stock.
• Jefferies upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) to buy from hold, citing leverage to higher land rig pricing. The firm raised its price target to $21 from $17.
• Wunderlich upgraded Renasant (RNST) to buy from hold following the company's acquisition of Crescent Bank. The firm raised its target for shares to $20 from $15.
• AT&T (T) was upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Blackstone (BX) was upgraded to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Scripps Networks (SNI) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BX, CBOE, DO, EL, INTU, ITT, PTEN, RNST, T, TEVA ...

Analyst Calls: BX, CBOE, DO, EL, INTU, ITT, PTEN, RNST, T, TEVA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On Wednesday, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne announced that he has designed a five-year plan for the automaker (Wall Street Journal, subscription required). Marchionne believes the restructuring will be slow initially, but should improve "significantly" next year.

We should receive the plan by the end of November, and Chrysler will start reporting its quarterly results by the end of the year. Marchionne stated, "We are going to become a normal reporter in the U.S. hopefully by the end of 2009. ... You will see numbers like you see for everyone else." One can only assume that this is one of the "whole pile of surprises" Marchionne promised back in June when Fiat took over Chrysler.

Continue reading Chrysler releases five-year plan

Chrysler releases five-year plan originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Kaufman Bros. upgraded Computer Sciences (NYSE: CSC) and Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) to Buy from Hold on better demand trends as it believes overall enterprise IT spending is turning more positive. The firm raised its target on Computer Sciences to $62 from $54 and on Cognizant to $45 from $42.
• Citigroup upgraded E-Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) to Buy from Hold as it believes loan less trends have improved and the company could potentially be acquired. Citi raised its target on shares to $2.30 from $1.50.
• Auriga upgraded Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to Buy from Hold as it believes consensus expectations for 2010 are too low, but admits the company's Q1 results could be fairly weak. Auriga believes Microsoft is coming up to its "most powerful product cycle in many years" and raised its price target on shares to $30 from $24.
• Motorola (NYSE: MOT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Fidelity Southern (NASDAQ: LION) was upgraded to Neutral from Reduce at SunTrust.
• Sonoco Products (NYSE: SON) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AA, ETFC, FIATY, MOT, MSFT, POT ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AA, ETFC, FIATY, MOT, MSFT, POT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Lee Iacocca suggests Chrysler return the government loan soon

Lee Iacocca suggests Chrysler return the government loan soon originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There's new boss at Chrysler, and his name is Sergio Marchionne. On the job just a few days, Mr. Marchionne has shown that he plans to run a tight ship at Chrysler. His first move was to appoint powerful divisional heads with profit and loss accountability.

He has initiated a top-to-bottom shake-up, naming 23 executives who will report directly to him. Some of the 23 are from Fiat and others were promoted within Chrysler.

Continue reading Marchionne sets new work ethic for Chrysler

Marchionne sets new work ethic for Chrysler originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 14 Jun 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Chrysler's sale to Fiat can proceed. Over the past week we thought that Chrysler's bankruptcy was almost over. But then a group of Indiana pension funds filed suit with the court to delay the sale.

At issue was $42 million of $6.9 billion of secured debt. The pension funds held that Chrysler's offer of 29 cents on the dollar violated their creditor rights.

A United Auto Workers union health care trust, a more junior unsecured debtor, would receive 55% equity stake. This deal was much more favorable than the offer to the Indiana pension funds.

Continue reading Supreme Court approves Chrysler sale to Fiat

Supreme Court approves Chrysler sale to Fiat originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Three separate requests filed in Indiana by pension funds and consumer groups have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the sale of Chrysler to a group led by Fiat. The groups filing the complaints hope to buy some time while challenging the deal. Some believe that this case could set a precedent for General Motors, which is trying to employ a similar "quick-sale" strategy as Chrysler. Late Friday, an appeals court stayed the closing of the sale until this afternoon, which gave the pension funds and opponents the weekend to make their plea to the Supreme Court.

The three pension funds argued that the sale of Chrysler unlawfully rewarded unsecured creditors, like the union rather than secured lenders. The funds hold roughly $42 million of Chrysler's $6.9 billion in secured loans. Lawyers for the pension funds argued, "the need for the court to review the profound issues presented by Chrysler's novel bankruptcy sale far outweighs the cost of delaying [a sale]."

Continue reading Indiana consumer groups want high court to block Chrysler sale

Indiana consumer groups want high court to block Chrysler sale originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bankrupt Chrysler LLC is rushing to sell its assets as fast as possible because it wants to close a deal with Fiat SpA, possibly by Friday noon. Chrysler terminated the franchise agreements of 789 dealers and is now forced to liquidate that inventory.

Chrysler filed for bankruptcy on April 30 and all plants have been closed since May. Yet during that time Chrysler reported strong retail sales, much of it coming from dealers who are closing.

Customers who are buying are looking for fire sale prices. Discounts of $8,000 on 2008 models and $4,000on 2009 models are enticing customers even more. Plus there are added discounts for loyal Chrysler customers and those financing through credit unions, and 0% financing through, ironically, GMAC.

Continue reading Chrysler bankruptcy almost over

Chrysler bankruptcy almost over originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Ford sees big drop in May sales, but does pick up market share

Ford sees big drop in May sales, but does pick up market share originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to the Financial Times, General Motors (NYSE: GM) expects "as many as three bids" for a strategic stake in its European arm by today's deadline. GM Europe spokesman Chris Preuss stated, "Based on conversations that are ongoing, the expectation is that there will be three bids put on the table." GM expects to rake in $887 million for the division.

The report quotes "two people close to the deal, who requested anonymity" as saying the three bids could come from Fiat, Canadian parts manufacturer Magna, and Brussels firm RHJ International.

Continue reading General Motors says it has three suitors for its European divisions

General Motors says it has three suitors for its European divisions originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 May 2009 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Early this morning, the Associated Press reported that talks between Chrysler's lenders and the Treasury Department had "disintegrated." The parties were trying to lower Chrysler's $6.9 billion in secured debt, a move that many hoped would stave off bankruptcy.

It appears that the hedge funds (roughly 40 of them) that hold roughly 30% of Chrysler's debt are looking for a deal better than the one struck between the banks and the government. The four banks that hold 70% of the automaker's debt agreed to erase that debt for $2 billion -- the hedge funds want more.

Continue reading Hedge funds break off talks with Treasury Department about Chrysler debt

Hedge funds break off talks with Treasury Department about Chrysler debt originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's beginning to look like the cozy little plan of salvaging Chrysler through an investment from Italy's Fiat is going to fall flat on its face. And if it does, this will leave the U.S. in an awkward position. Instead of forking over another $77 billion to get General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) over its bankruptcy hump, it will need to deal with Chrysler as well. And that could mean more taxpayer money going to finance a merger between the two.

A few weeks ago, it looked like Fiat would give access to technology, platforms and research worth $10 billion in exchange for a 35% ownership stake in Chrysler -- thereby taking some heat off the U.S. government. Chrysler has already received $4 billion in U.S. loans, but that will only last for two more weeks, so it wants $9 billion more.

Continue reading If Fiat dumps Chrysler, will GM and Chrysler merge?

If Fiat dumps Chrysler, will GM and Chrysler merge? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Will labor costs kill the Chrysler-Fiat partnership?

Will labor costs kill the Chrysler-Fiat partnership? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fiat probably hoped to get a 35% share of Chrysler without putting any skin in the game. Why would the Italian auto company expect that? May it is just naive. The US government is unlikely to let a foreign company get a piece of a US company for free, especially if the Treasury is writing the checks to keep the American company afloat.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "Chrysler LLC has found an international partner in Fiat SpA but the auto maker isn't out of the woods, mainly because the deal is contingent on Chrysler getting $3 billion in additional government loans."

Why should Fiat walk in and get a piece of a firm that could be turned around using taxpayer cash? The answer is that it shouldn't. The Treasury should insist that Fiat put at least as much money into Chrysler as it is.

Fiat is really not giving Chrysler much for its 35% in the US car company. It will help retool some plants and use them to build small cars that both companies will sell. Whether that helps Chrysler won't be known for some time. In essence Fiat is getting its stake almost for free.

Treasury may want to tell Fiat that bailout money is in short supply especially with the economy getting worse. Fiat ought to pay its own way if it wants to get a piece of the American car market.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

Note to Fiat: Treasury may want some cash for Chrysler deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Given that Chrysler's sales dropped 53% last month and that it is hemorrhaging market share in the US, its only real market, the investment is a puzzle.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "The pact with Fiat could give Chrysler a stronger case as it seeks more loans from the U.S. government. Chrysler nearly ran out of money late last year." That may not be true. Treasury could simply turn to Fiat and say, if you want to own Chrysler, you can fund it. If your equity stake is a value to you, show us the money.

Beyond that, the US car market is shrinking so fast that no company may be able to make money here for another two years. Chrysler and Fiat would like to pick up more of the small car market, but that is dominated by Japanese companies who are unlikely to yield any of it. They have strong balance sheets and can outlast weaker companies.

Put in a sentence, the deal can't work.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

A Fiat 'takeover' of Chrysler appears done originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The car manufacturers of Europe will ask for $55 billion in loan guarantees to upgrade their factories to build more fuel-efficient cars. The proposed arrangement looks a lot like the one just put together by the U.S. government and the Big Three American automakers.

According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), "Fiat suggested the request to European auto executives at a board meeting of ACEA, the European Auto Makers Association on Friday."

Perhaps Japanese, Chinese, and Korean car companies can call for similar help, and the value of auto loan guarantees around the world can approach $200 billion.

While governments try to bear the burden of a worldwide financial meltdown, more and more struggling industries will ask for assistance. The airline industry may be next; it's being badly hurt by high fuel prices. Food companies may want aid because of rising commodities costs. Refiners are being hurt by high oil prices and may need a hand as well.

So, the question becomes, will governments decide which industries make it?

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Now European car companies want a bailout originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 05 Oct 2008 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is one in a series on prominent company nicknames. See all 25, and share your thoughts and memories about Fiat below in the comments.

Sometime in the 1970s, some wag dubbed the Fiat Fix It Again Tony, because at the time the Italian cars were awful -- they were built with cheap Russian steel that rusted easily. Their reputation among American consumers has never recovered.

"Modern Fiats are actually pretty respectable thanks to modernization of materials and manufacturing processes, unfortunately most Americans still think of the old phrase 'Fix It Again Tony' because Fiat has not sold cars in North America since 1982, and therefore that is the last Fiat anyone there has usually seen," according to the Urban Dictionary.

Maybe Fiat's absence from the U.S. market is not a bad thing. Writing in BusinessWeek, Helen Walters described the Fiat Punto as being riddled with design flaws, including one that is a safety hazard. "As it happens, I'm not in the market to buy a car," she writes. "But if I was then the Punto wouldn't make it anywhere on the list."

Looks like the old Fiat joke is not going away anytime soon.

Company nicknames: Lame Fiat joke lingers after decades originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is one in a series on prominent company nicknames. See all 25, and share your thoughts and memories about Ford below in the comments.

I didn't grow up in one of those families that placed a high premium on American-made goods. If the Japanese can make it better, we'll buy it from them! was the general consensus. And those foreign autos served the Harrows well. My parents bought their 1984 Toyota Tercel when it was new, and that unattractive but reliable compact was part of the family through the beginning of my college career -- even surviving my first, hilarious attempts to operate a manual transmission. So, it wasn't until I moved in with my friend Debbie, as an adult, that I learned the details behind a particularly unflattering nickname for the Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F).

There are those who would joke that the letters in "FORD" stand for "Fix Or Repair Daily." I know from experience that if you make that particular wisecrack within Debbie's earshot, she probably won't crack a smile. Instead, you can almost see her wheels churning, as though she's trying to calculate the thousands she's already poured into her Ford Focus -- or maybe she's just trying to predict which part will break down next.

During the time we shared a mailbox, it was a not-out-of-the-ordinary occurrence for Debbie to receive recall notices bearing the familiar Ford logo. These repair-o-grams arrived with such frequency that the exact number now escapes my memory; when I questioned her via text message, she replied, "I have had six. Stupid car."

Continue reading Company nicknames: Ford's reputation for quality found on road dead

Company nicknames: Ford's reputation for quality found on road dead originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As most of us struggle with surging gas prices, food costs and the possibility of losing our jobs, it's good to know that one little niche of people are oblivious to the current economic environment, and continue on with business as usual.

Sales of Fiat's Maserati brand are up 16% this year, as the rich continue to buy the $115,000 car. Add on that the Maserati gets a whopping 13 miles per gallon in the city and 19 on the highway.

Maserati's are being sought after by buyers wanting something better than your typical Mercedes-Benz, yet more affordable than Italian competitors Ferrari and Lamborghini. Nice to know that even these buyers are impacted by sticker shock!

According to an article in Bloomberg, Wes Brown who is an automotive analyst commented: "If you've got money, you want people to know you've got money, and people want to find something that not everybody has,'' Brown said. "They are saying, `I don't want a BMW or Mercedes, which you can see on every corner.'"

We all know that problem! Who can afford to buy a Maserati? The company says that the typical buyer is a 54-year-old male with household income of $750,000.

For those of you who decided to leave your car at home and take the bus in order to save a couple of bucks, you'll be glad to know that by freeing up the road, that new Maserati owner will have less traffic to deal with and be able to take the car up to its top speed of 177 miles her hour.

Who cares if gas is over $4 a gallon?

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 7/10/08.

Rich people and Maserati ask, what economic slowdown? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.