General Motors (GM)

[helios]

Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co., the largest U.S. automaker, said it expects the industry sales to rise 15 percent to 12.1 million next year as government stimulus programs help restore consumer confidence.

GM forecasts U.S. deliveries of 10.5 million this year before the increase, Brent Dewar, head of the Chevrolet brand, told reporters today in Novi, Michigan. Klaus-Peter Martin, a spokesman, provided the percentage estimate. Sales in 2008 totaled 13.2 million cars and light trucks.

“All of the global stimulus programs have had the impact of moving inventory and building consumer confidence,” Dewar said. The U.S. government’s “cash for clunkers” program boosted purchases this month, he said. Even with payback expected in September because the offer pulled some sales forward, GM expects continued improvement, Dewar said.

A stronger U.S. market would help GM Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson, who is under pressure to increase domestic market share and return the company to profitability. GM exited bankruptcy with U.S. aid on July 10.

The federal government’s $3 billion auto incentive program produced almost 700,000 sales, the Transportation Department said on Aug. 26. New-vehicle buyers got credits of as much as $4,500 for trading in older, less fuel-efficient models.


Source: Bloomberg.com

[helios]

MTLQQ closed at 0.82; any idea on when the new GM Co. is tradable?

Chart Link: http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui

[kennynah]

the new GM will be listed in mainboard no earlier than Q2 2010... their CFO made this comment in Jul 09...


MTLQQ is a zero value stock.... trade it..but dont keep it for too long... it can zoom to zero at anytime...

[helios]

nope, will wait for the new GM.

[millionairemind]

This was aided by the Cash For Clunkers program... the next quarter will show if this turnaround really sustains itself given the 10.2% unemployment.

Nov 16, 2009
GM reports US$1.2b Q3 loss
DETROIT - GENERAL Motors Co says it lost US$1.2 billion (S$1.66 billion) from the time it left bankruptcy protection through Sept 30, far better than previous quarters and a sign that the auto giant is starting to turn around.

The company also says it will begin repaying US$6.7 billion in US government loans with a US$1.2 billion payment in December. It could pay off the full amount by 2011, four years ahead of schedule.

Chief Financial Officer Ray Young cautioned that the second- and third-quarter figures don't comply with US accounting standards and shouldn't be compared with previous earnings.

GM says it is re-valuing its assets and liabilities and should comply with accounting standards next year. -- AP

[iam802]

General Motors winds down Saab despite sale talks

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8448932.stm

General Motors (GM) says it has begun the process to "wind down" Saab, but will also continue efforts to find a buyer for the Swedish carmaker.

GM said it had selected restructuring group AlixPartners to supervise an "orderly" winding down at Saab, which it expected to take several months.

The US group also confirmed that it had received several proposals for Saab, which it was continuing to evaluate.

One bid has come from a group including Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone.

Swedish union IF Metall, which has a representative on Saab's board, criticised GM's decision to start the liquidation process while still continuing to explore a sale.

"It is irresponsible of GM as an owner to go in two directions, both pursuing the sale [of Saab] and the winding-up," said Stefan Loefven, the union's leader.

Bid interest

Late on Thursday, two groups said that they had made bids for Saab.

One group includes F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, in partnership with Luxembourg-based private investment company Genii Capital, which recently invested in Renault's F1 team.

Mr Ecclestone told the Bloomberg news agency that Saab was "a good brand".

The second confirmed bid has come from Dutch sports carmaker Spyker.

Swedish newspapers have also speculated that there has been a third bid approach by a group of Swedish business leaders, but this has not been confirmed.

"We will see what we can do, in order to, if possible, contribute to a positive sale of Saab," Joeran Haegglund, Swedish enterprise ministry state secretary, told Swedish news agency TT on Friday.

He will lead a Swedish delegation to Detroit on Saturday for talks early next week with officials from GM and Ford, which is in the process of selling its Swedish unit Volvo to Chinese carmaker Geely.

Protracted sale

GM has been trying to sell Saab since January last year.

In June, GM announced that it had agreed to sell it to sports carmaker Koenigsegg, only for the Swedish company to pull out of the deal in November.

Saab, which employs 3,400 people in Sweden, lost 3bn kronor (£255m; $412m) in 2008, and it has not made a profit since 2001.

Founded in 1937, Saab was bought by GM in 1989.

[kennynah]

i kinda like Saab vehicles...the unique shape and design... a little like the rogue vehicle challenging the norm of continental cars... however, i don't know if its performance is any good or if it is fuel efficient.

[iam802]

GM clinches last-minute deal to sell Saab to Spyker

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20100127/t ... 2e412.html

Notes:
- GM officials said the deal calls for Spyker to pay 74 million dollars in cash and allow GM to retain redeemable preferred shares worth an estimated 326 million dollars.
- Sweden will guarantee a loan of 400 million euros (563 million dollars) from the European Investment Bank to support the transaction, Swedish Enterprise Minister Maud Olofsson said in Stockholm.

[Helium]

Treasury Said to Consider Advisers on General Motors Offering By Katie Merx

May 16 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Treasury, 61 percent owner of General Motors Co., is talking with several banks about advising the department on the company’s return to public trading, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Greenhill & Co., Lazard Ltd. and Perella Weinberg Partners are among banks interviewed by the U.S. Treasury Department about an initial public offering of General Motors Co., said the person, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. A decision may not be made until the third quarter, said the person.

Chief Executive Officer Ed Whitacre wants GM to return to the auto-lending business before holding an IPO in the fourth quarter, people familiar with that matter have said. The automaker plans to report first-quarter financial results tomorrow.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... hGXM&pos=4

[Helium]

On CNBC and Reuters:-

U.S. to hire adviser for GM IPO

(Reuters) - The Treasury Department is interviewing Wall Street bankers to advise the government on an initial public offering of General Motors Co, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Among the firms competing for the advisory role are Greenhill & Co, Lazard Ltd and Perella Weinberg Partners, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the meetings.