Editorial: The Truth About GM’s IPO
One might believe that GM’s forthcoming IPO marks the second coming of Christ. GM, once the world’s largest corporation, faced oblivion in the winter of 2009. The train wreck of this former company...
View ArticleGM’s IPO: Faster, Harder And Less Satisfying
Despite having more cash than debt for the first time in decades, GM is going back to Wall Street in search of fresh debt. Over the weekend, The General has been in talks with several banks to secure a...
View ArticleGM’s IPO: For King, Country, or Cadillac?
After ending the first quarter of this year with $35.7b in cash and equivalents, GM was in the best position it’s enjoyed in decades. And yet, with an IPO prospectus looming, The General is seeking a...
View ArticleGM’s AmeriCredit Deal: Awaiting Approval
Now that GM’s acquisition of the subprime lender AmeriCredit has had 24 hours to sink in, howls of protest are starting to surface. The charge is being led by Senator Chuck Grassley, who has requested...
View ArticleIs Detroit’s “Perception Gap” Dead?
According to our latest sales data, the Detroit Three have enjoyed something of a comeback relative to the “foreign” competition this year. And though it’s not clear how long that trend will last, the...
View ArticleTTAC In The New York Times
Ed Niedermeyer is too humble to say it, so it’s left to me: Ed just had his second third op-ed piece in the New York Times. Required reading. Two core sentences: “In particular, what Mr. Obama called...
View ArticleOn Detroit’s Guzzling Ways
One of the more admirable qualities of the blogging culture is a relentless underdog streak. Anyone who mans the ramparts of a decent blog is forever scouring the worlds of business, media and opinion...
View ArticleTARP Oversight Report: Bailout Goals Conflict, Moral Hazard Alive And Well
The Congressional Oversight Panel, which oversees the TARP program on behalf of the legislative branch, has released an update on the auto bailout [full PDF here] acknowledging the successes of the...
View ArticleFiat’s 40 MPG Fiction
Yesterday’s release of the Congressional Oversight Panel report on the auto bailout pointed out several fundamental problems with the government’s intervention in the auto industry, all of which stem...
View ArticleTreasury Lowers The Bar, Fiat Snags Another 5% Of Chrysler
Exactly a week ago, Fiat said it would up its stake in Chrysler “within weeks,” and according to the Detroit News, the deed is now done. Having earned 5% of Chrysler’s equity by building a FIRE-family...
View Article“Government Motors”: The Exit Strategy
With GM’s share price slipping below $30, the cries are going up again around the internet about the government’s stake in the bailed-out automaker. Thus far the Treasury has remained mum on its exit...
View ArticleRemember Our Fallen Heroes: Was The Bailout Worth It?
This is the Memorial Day weekend, when we commemorate our fallen heroes and raise our cancer risk by burning chopped beef. Listening to the media, it looks and sounds like the fallen heroes of the year...
View Article“Volt Scam” Debate Misses The Point
Mark Modica, a former Saturn dealer GM bondholder, has leveraged his financial loss at the hands of the government bailout into a blogging position at the National Legal and Policy Center, a...
View ArticleShould The Treasury Dump Its GM Stock?
Today’s Rasmussen poll results, which show that Americans are arguably less likely to buy from a bailed-out automaker, raise some interesting questions. Like, does receiving a bailout constitute an...
View ArticleBlind Spot: Digging Deeper Into GM’s Fuel Economy Record
Old habits die hard. Whether it’s GM’s desire to slice-and-dice its fuel economy achievements to make them look better than they are, or our instinct to correct the record, it’s all just a little bit...
View ArticleRattner Defends Bailout With Old Talking Points
Ford did not receive a government bailout. Not directly. It would have gone down the tubes along GM and Chrysler, if they would have been allowed to die, Steve Rattner, the head of the auto task force,...
View ArticleHow The GM Bailout Turned Into Foreign Aid
Longtime reader and new contributor Tyler Vandermeulen is a financial analyst by day. He took a deep dive into the EDGAR database to unearth how much of GM’s money flows abroad. Please welcome Tyler...
View ArticleLe Bailout Watch: France To Save Peugeot, Germans Say Verboten
The French government will provide multi-billion euro guarantees to GM’s alliance-partner PSA Peugeot-Citroen via PSA’s banking arm, Reuters says. Don’t bet on it happening: There is already opposition...
View ArticleLe Bailout Watch: Peugeot Saved By French Government
Europe’s second-largest automaker and GM alliance partner PSA Peugeot-Citroen is being saved from the brink for the time being. PSA is putting the final touches on an agreement with creditor banks on...
View ArticleLe Bailout: Ford Is Against It
Stephen Odell, CEO of Ford Europe, thinks that state aid of ailing carmakers is a dead-end street. Odell told Reuters: “I don’t think it’s sustainable for support from governments to keep competitive...
View ArticleThe Truth About Post-Bailout Pay Restrictions: They Are A Lie
Up until the mid-1800s, debtor’s prison did await those who could not pay their debts. To this day, more than a third of U.S. states allow debtors to be jailed for non-payment. If you run a company...
View ArticleHow GM Avoided A $30 Billion Loss: With A Little Juggling
So you think GM had a big profit last year? There are other people who say that GM should have reported a $30 billion loss. At least as long as GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) are...
View ArticleThe Juggling Show: GM Calls Its European Dealers Worthless, Receives A $35...
GM’s European dealers had their run-ins with the company lately, but wait until their read GM’s annual report to the Security and Exchange Commission. In its 2012 10K, GM writes about its European...
View ArticleGovernment Reports $9.7 Billion Loss On GM Shares
With the vast majority of the government’s General Motors shares sold, the U.S. government is reporting a $9.7 billion loss, according to a Congressional report cited by the Detroit News. With the...
View ArticleWas The Government’s Divestment of GM Stock Insider Trading?
Back in 2004, perfectionist homemaker and well known TV personality Martha Stewart was charged with insider trading. As presented, the facts in the case were simple. Martha owned stock in a medical...
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