GM, Chrysler bankruptcies could bury U.S. pension backer

BY TODD SPANGLER
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF
WASHINGTON — Should General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC be pushed into bankruptcy and become unable to support retirees’ pension plans, it could create an unprecedented strain on the government-sponsored corporation that guarantees those benefits.
A report from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office [...]

 
This will be GM’s last chance to get it right

BY TOM WALSH
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
D-Day for General Motors Corp. is June 1.
And this time, they mean it — "they" being GM management and the U.S. Treasury Department that controls the life-support loans keeping GM alive.
GM either reinvents itself by then as a smaller, trimmer company [...]

April 24, 2009

Treasury lends $2 billion more to GM

By TODD SPANGLER
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF
WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department loaned General Motors an additional $2 billion this week, bringing the total lent so far to the biggest American carmaker to $15.4 billion.
The additional loan was made Tuesday, according to a report by the U.S. Treasury [...]

Friday, April 24, 2009
Salaried auto retirees meet with White House reps
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Washington — A senior advisor to the Obama auto task force met with representatives of 200,000 auto industry salaried retirees for an hour this morning, promising to hear their concerns.
Chuck Austin, president of the National Chrysler Retirement Organization, said [...]

Friday, April 24, 2009
GM employee stock in 401(k) plans sold on bankruptcy risk
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
The manager of General Motors Corp.’s employee stock fund sold all shares of company stock on fears the automaker could be forced to file for bankruptcy in the coming weeks, the company said Friday.
As of Dec. 31, [...]

Neil Roland
Automotive News | April 24, 2009 – 4:15 pm EST
 
Automakers, UAW want green credits to fund industry upgrades
 
Gore says failure to pass ‘would be awful to contemplate’
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WASHINGTON — Federal revenue from a cap-and-trade program in the draft climate-change legislation should be used to develop environment-friendly vehicles, automakers and the UAW said told [...]

GM prepares to announce Pontiac closure next week
 

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Jamie LaReau
Automotive News | April 24, 2009 – 1:45 pm EST
 

General Motors is preparing to announce early next week that the Pontiac brand will be eliminated, said a source familiar with the company’s plans.
The announcement [...]

Friday, April 24, 2009
Daniel Howes
Commentary: U.S. will blame bankers if Chrysler goes bankrupt

If Chrysler LLC lands in bankruptcy court as early as next week, everyone will blame the bankers — whether they deserve it or not.
I say this not because it would be entirely fair, either, unless "fiduciary responsibility" and the duty of lenders to [...]

Automotive News | April 24, 2009 – 12:01 am EST
 
Canadian union chief says he expects Chrysler deal today
 

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TORONTO (Reuters) — The head of the Canadian Auto Workers union said he expects to have a cost-savings agreement completed with Chrysler LLC by early today. "With a good effort from everybody, we should have this done [...]