gm posts
Posted Jul 6th 2009 8:30AM by Tom Johansmeyer
Filed under: PepsiCo (PEP), General Motors (GM), BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), Rio Tinto plc ADS (RTP)
When oil lost almost $3 a barrel, stock futures indicated a lower opening for today. Just shy of 5 AM, S&P 500, Down Jones, and Nasdaq 100 futures were all off 0.9%. The drop in oil to $64 a barrel has called into question any projections of a quick economic recovery -- as if high unemployment weren't enough. The Monday after any long weekend is hard, and this one's going to hurt.
The direction in which futures are pointing continues Thursday's equity declines in the United States, bringing the S&P 500 its third consecutive weekly loss. For the day, it lost 2.91%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.63% of its value, with the Nasdaq Composite Index giving up 2.67%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is down 5.6%, the S&P 500 down 0.8%.
Continue reading Oil down, futures down following holiday weekend
Posted Jul 6th 2009 7:35AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Before the bell, International markets, General Motors (GM), Market matters, Economic data, Oil, Recession
U.S. stock-market futures declined Monday morning following the long holiday weekend. As the hopes for a quick economic recovery waned, oil prices dropped sharply, adding to pressure on stocks. After focusing much on the economy, investors will now turn their attention also to earnings as the beginning of the second quarter earnings season begins. Meanwhile, today, the headlines have more auto news as the General Motors' bankruptcy plan received a federal judge's approval.
Vice President Joe Biden didn't help to instill confidence in Wall Street when said Sunday on an ABC interview the Obama administration "misread how bad the economy was." He added, though, that the administration stands by its stimulus package and believes the plan will create more jobs as the pace of its spending picks up. With nonfarm payrolls data last Thursday showing U.S. employers slashed 467,000 jobs in June -- 100,000 more than anticipated -- many hope the administration is right.
Continue reading Before the bell: Futures decline as oil falls sharply; GM's bankruptcy plan approved
Posted Jun 26th 2009 5:00PM by Tom Taulli
Filed under: General Motors (GM), China
Forging a cross-border buyout deal is always difficult. But, it is even more complicated if the seller needs to get the deal done fairly quickly.
No doubt, this is the case with GM, which is in the process of unloading its Hummer unit. The interested buyer is Sichuan Tengzhong, which is based in China. The price tag on the deal: $500 million.
However, this week we got a bombshell; that is, the BBC reported that the Chinese government wanted to kill the deal.
Continue reading Hummer: Deal or no deal?
Posted Jun 22nd 2009 10:20AM by Mark Fightmaster
Filed under: Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM)
Former Chrysler CEO
Lee Iacocca has decided to weigh in on the current situation at his former employer, when interviewed by the Associated Press. Iacocca believes that the automaker needs to get the government out of the business as soon as possible, noting that government intervention is "strong motivation to repay the loan early." Iacocca added that the government "oversight is just too extreme." He reminded readers how Chrysler repaid the previous ten year loan from the government in three.
Chrysler and
General Motors (OTC:
GMGMQ) are have both received billions of dollars in government loans. Chrysler has recently exited bankruptcy protection, while GM remains in Chapter 11. The Treasury Department's auto task force has already made its presence felt, forcing out both CEOs and is reshaping their boards.
Continue reading Lee Iacocca suggests Chrysler return the government loan soon
Posted Jun 19th 2009 3:40PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: General Motors (GM)

The United Auto Workers union will own a 17.5% stake in the new General Motors company through its Voluntary Employee Benefits Trust (VEBR).
As part of that ownership stake, the UAW's interests will be represented on the board of directors by former Wall Street Analyst Stephen Girsky.
BusinessWeek reports that "While Girsky has served as an advisor to the union for several years, and clearly has a soft spot for labor, he's all too aware of GM's problems. He was a tough critic of the company when he covered its stock for Morgan Stanley. Girsky also worked at the company as an advisor to former CEO Rick Wagoner, too. Don't look for him to press CEO Fritz Henderson to give the UAW a contract that would erase some of the concessions that were made prior to bankruptcy."
Continue reading UAW adds its voice to new General Motors board of directors
Posted Jun 19th 2009 3:20PM by Steven Mallas
Filed under: Earnings reports, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), AutoNation Inc (AN)
CarMax (NYSE:
KMX), an expert in used automobiles and a colleague of
AutoNation (NYSE:
AN), is up today nearly 14% in early-afternoon trading on spectacular volume. What's driving (pun intended!) the buying action? You guessed it...earnings. Revenues for the first quarter decreased 17%. Adjusting for items, CarMax earned $0.22 per share, and, according to my colleague
Melly Alazraki, that figure simply annihilated earnings projections developed by the analysts.
Well, well, well...what to do now, right? CarMax is an interesting company in an interesting time. It sells used cars during a period when new cars aren't selling too well. We all know about the problems at Ford (NYSE: F) and General Motors (OTC: GMGMQ). But that isn't reason enough to put money down on this stock. Especially not after a rally like we're seeing today.
Continue reading My portfolio won't be test-driving CarMax
Posted Jun 11th 2009 3:30PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: General Motors (GM)

The average American family of four has, against its will, invested over $900 in the Detroit auto industry so it's fair to ask: Will we be getting our money back?
President Obama's auto task force told lawmakers yesterday that there is a "reasonable probability" that the federal government will be paid back. I don't buy that and here's why:
Liquidation analysis of GM suggests that there would be just $10 billion in net proceeds from a liquidation. Given that the government has $80 billion invested in the industry with little collateral, long-time money losers like GM and Chrysler will need to earn spectacular returns on equity to pay back their loans. I just don't see it happening. Do you?
Continue reading Obama says 'reasonable probability' of getting paid back on auto loans
Posted Jun 11th 2009 10:45AM by Elizabeth Harrow
Filed under: Bad news, General Motors (GM)
Downtrodden General Motors (OTC: GMGMQ) is throwing in the towel on its 2010 hybrid-electric Chevy Malibu, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). Due to weak demand among retail customers, dealers have stopped ordering the car, and the automaker is currently choking on a backlog of the unpopular hybrids.
To drive home the point, the Journal quotes Joe Menegos, the sales manager at a National City, Calif., dealership, as saying, "We could care less" that the hybrid Malibu is being deep-sixed.
Continue reading General Motors yanks the hybrid Malibu, warns common shareholders
Posted Jun 10th 2009 9:20AM by Alex Salkever
Filed under: Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Financial Crisis

Well, you knew it had to happen since Uncle Sam effectively owns Chrysler and General Motors. The U.S. House of Representatives is trying to pass a bill that would mandate the large automakers honor existing franchise agreements and
put off dealer closures. The Dow Jones Newswire article quoted Bailey Wood, a lobbyist for the National Automobile Dealers Association, with the following doozy: "Closing dealerships will not make either Chrysler or GM any more viable, and Congress is realizing that," Wood said.
That the politicians are getting involved in operational decisions is clear evidence of the impending doom for the large auto companies. It's hard enough to exit bankruptcy and restart a business. It's far harder to do so while carrying political agendas on your back.
Continue reading House: Save the auto dealers! Can Ford survive the intervention?
Posted Jun 8th 2009 9:30AM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: General Motors (GM)
AlixPartners, one of the firms charged with helping General Motors navigate its way through bankruptcy, performed liquidation analysis as part of the company's court proceedings, and its findings are disturbing: If GM liquidated tomorrow, there would be less than $10 billion in net proceeds.
The New York Times reports that "bank lenders owed $5.4 billion would recover from 26.3 to 77.1 cents on the dollar. The United States Treasury, on the hook for $20.5 billion, fares even worse under this scenario, getting just 12.7 cents to 23.7 cents on the dollar for its claims. Unsecured creditors would get nothing." (emphasis added)
Continue reading If GM liquidates, everyone loses
Posted Jun 7th 2009 2:10PM by Tom Taulli
Filed under: Deals, Competitive strategy, General Motors (GM)
Back in the 1950s, Roger Penske not only raced cars, but he also sold them. And, when he retired in 1965, he focused on his business interests, creating an empire. Now, there is Penske Auto (NYSE: PAG), which operates a chain of auto dealers, a truck leasing operation, and a high-performance car operation.
Well, this week the empire got even bigger; that is, Penske agreed to purchase the Saturn unit from General Motors. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Continue reading Saturn enters the Penske orbit
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