financials


GM's Liquidation Motors stock reportedly still worth $370M, can't be sold short

When General Motors entered into Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the summer, its bad assets were moved into a firm called Motors Liquidation Company (MLC). That company was capitalized with more than 600 million shares that were meant to be worthless; however, quite the opposite has happened: with its shares priced at $0.60 per, MLC now has a market cap of $370 million. How did that happen? Investors engaged in "naked short-selling" is how it happened. Short sellers usually procure an actual 'tangible' stock from a broker or investment house ... Read more →

Former President Bush asks Obama to exit the car business Jonathon Ramsey

When Former President George W. Bush spoke to the Montreal Board of Trade recently, he made a public appeal to the Obama administration to "get out of the private sector," adding "I hope our ...

REPORT: Chrysler Financial to wind down by 2011, executive pay, well, not so much Jonathon Ramsey

Cerberus submitted its plans for Chrysler Financial to the U.S. Treasury, and then in an announcement that came as a surprise to Cerberus itself, the Treasury said that Chrysler Financial would be ...

REPORT: Nissan ready to say "Mission Accomplished" on recovery work Jonathon Ramsey

Some companies respond to "losing money at a frightening pace" by studying the problem at length as they continue to lose more money, by asking for more money or, in the worst cases, not doing ...

REPORT: 'Old' Chrysler defaulting on loan obligations Jonathon Ramsey

Before there was a Motors Liquidation Co, post-bankruptcy GM's hived-off shelter for useless assets, there was Old Carco LLC. That's the company Chrysler built to house its useless assets, and ...

Tata gets private-sector loan, doesn't need UK government money 3 months ago on Autoblog

Tata's target was £1 billion ($1.65B U.S.) in loans to keep the JLR group going. And while Tata is in talks with the U.K government about providing a large chunk of that, some of the government's terms -- like veto power over management decisions-- prevented Tata from pulling the trigger. ...

REPORT: New GM entitled to $16 billion in federal tax breaks courtesy of Old GM 3 months ago on Autoblog

Due to what appears to be a slight (additional) bending of the rules, the "new," post-bankruptcy General Motors has been allowed to carry the $16 billion net operating loss that was created by the "old" GM. That means that New GM will not have to pay taxes on its profits for a while, because the ...

REPORT: VW leans on Porsche, Porsche responds, "We will not accept extortion." 4 months ago on Autoblog

Porsche maintains it still has its mojo, but Volkswagen is treating the company like Porsche's got lunch money and VW is hungry. VW -- which Porsche effectively owns -- loaned Porsche €700 million ($983.8 million) earlier this year, with Porsche due to pay it back in September. As collateral ...

REPORT: Daimler, Porsche dismiss talks of stake as "speculation" 5 months ago on Autoblog

Daimler's Dieter Zetsche has called 2009 a "Darwin year" for the car business, with the weak and the lame being pulled down by larger forces. Surprisingly, Porsche was one of those businesses that nearly went under, and it has been looking for help almost anywhere it could get it. Reuters says that ...

GM grants reprieve to 30 dealers, reviewing more 5 months ago on Autoblog

General Motors wants to shrink its dealer network by around 2,500 outlets and has sent closure notices to more than a thousand already. Still, the General has left a door open that allows affected dealers to appeal the decision and show proof of why they should not be cut from the herd. According ...

Dealer Bailout: Chrysler to redistribute all new inventory 5 months ago on Autoblog

After the suggestion of Congressional hearings on the matter, Chrysler's Jim Press assured Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) that Chrysler dealers with leftover inventory after June 9 would "receive a fair and equitable value." It appears that Chrysler is making good on that promise. The ...

Chrysler bankruptcy taken to Supreme Court by unhappy shareholders 5 months ago on Autoblog

As the movie Hoosiers amply demonstrated, Indiana natives don't quit. That's also true for three Indiana state pension funds who have fought Chrysler's bankruptcy all the way to the federal appeals court in New York and, having lost their case there, are filing papers with the Supreme Court today. ...

FOLLOWUP: Chrysler, Fiat reportedly agree to honor lemon law claims 5 months ago on Autoblog

On a recent episode of The Chrysler Files, customers who purchased Chrysler vehicles that were later officially certified as lemons were being reimbursed by the company with checks... that bounced. The snafu stemmed from the fact that while said claims were made before Chrysler's bankruptcy, after ...

REPORT: GM bondholders give go-ahead to revamped deal, bankruptcy still expected 5 months ago on Autoblog

Yesterday, General Motors and its bondholders had officially called it quits, and GM was headed for a certain and certain-to-be-rocky bankruptcy. Today, according to a company filing, The General and the necessary chunk of its bondholders have come to an agreement, and the company looks to be ...

GM and Chrysler CEOs called to D.C. to explain dealer closings 5 months ago on Autoblog

The situations with GM and Chrysler are beginning to look like what happens after a fumble in an NFL game: a dozen men pile on top of each other all trying to get the ball. The difference in the case of GM and Chrysler is there are far more than two teams struggling for the prize. The latest to hop ...

Look Who's Talking Again: Porsche, VW resume negotiations 6 months ago on Autoblog

The way things read, Porsche might not have to get a merger deal done with Volkswagen, but it would appear to be in the carmaker's best interests if it does. The holdup seems to be Porsche – since VW still doesn't know what Porsche's financial situation is, talks broke down earlier this week. ...

Who are Chrysler's top ten creditors? The answer may surprise you 6 months ago on Autoblog

Chrysler's top ten creditors are owed about $400 million, and the top two creditors account for nearly $130 million of that. The company first in line for payment is Ohio Module, which is a subsidiary of Hyundai Mobis, which is in turn a publicly traded subsidiary of Hyundai. Ohio Module makes ...

REPORT: Chrysler affidavits reveal crippling problems that hurt chances for success post-bankruptcy 6 months ago on Autoblog

History could eventually reveal that Chrysler declaring bankruptcy may have just been the easy part. According to CNN, affidavits taken from Chrysler engineers and executives do a pretty good job of showing that things will get really tough when it's time for the automaker to start making cars ...

Chrysler bankruptcy lawyers reportedly ask to be paid up-front 6 months ago on Autoblog

Attorneys from Jones Day law firm representing Chrysler during bankruptcy have taken the unusual step of asking the judge to "give their fees special priority." Two reasons have been hypothesized for the move: the lawyers don't think there will be any money for trade debts from the leftover pieces ...

Carlos Ghosn vows he won't depart Nissan until it returns to profitability? 6 months ago on Autoblog

Carlos Ghosn became Nissan's chief operating officer in 1999, initially declared that he would remain in the job for a maximum of ten years. At the time, Nissan had $13 billion in debt, a history of losses, and an almost completely forgettable product lineup. Now, on the eve of his ten-year ...

Shaken, Not Stirred: Aston parent company reportedly defaults on $100M Islamic bond 6 months ago on Autoblog

Investment Dar, the Kuwaiti firm that owns part of Aston Martin, has reportedly defaulted on payment for a $100 million Islamic bond that was due on April 27. In the process, Bloomberg says it has become the first Persian Gulf company to default on an Islamic bond. In December of last year, Dar ...

Porsche and Piech companies to own about half of post-merger VW? 6 months ago on Autoblog

Porsche's merger with Volkswagen is a step back from Porsche taking outright control of VW, something the automaker has been fighting various German entities to do for over a year. The willingness to co-exist is being put down to Porsche's debt levels, which can't be easy to refinance when banks ...

Chrysler's dissident lender group withdraws objections 6 months ago on Autoblog

There was a minority group of some 20 Chrysler lenders that were fighting the repayment arrangements Chrysler was trying to make before Chrysler declared bankruptcy. Led by Oppenheimer and Stairway Capital, they were owed $2.9 billion and didn't feel they were getting all they could. After Chrysler ...

REPORT: AutoShanghai show bucks trend to show record attendance figures 6 months ago on Autoblog

In the introductory videos for the Bertone Mantide, designer Jason Castriota says "There's a reason we introduced the car here," in Shanghai -- and the performance of the Shanghai Motor Show appears to justify that kind of thinking for nearly every automaker there. The show was physically larger ...

Fiat CEO Marchionne: "If I was a betting man, I would suggest Chrysler is going to fall into Chapter 11" 6 months ago on Autoblog

After yesterday's Chrysler news regarding the first-lien holders and the U.S. Treasury coming to terms, we hope none of you thought the Pentastar had gotten off the see-saw. The latest tidbit comes from Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, but it comes via CAW head Ken Lewenza. According to Lewenza, ...

Qatar pondering taking stake in Porsche? 6 months ago on Autoblog

The worst secret in the universe is that there's a lot of money in the Middle East and the Gulf states are looking all over the world for places to put it. Abu Dhabi's Aabar investment spent €1.95 billion on a 9.1% stake in Daimler (around $2.5B USD), and now the state of Qatar is eying what ...

AdAge provides a glimpse at how GM's financial crisis is affecting its marketing efforts 6 months ago on Autoblog

The "television upfront" is the term used when networks sell advertising time for the coming season's shows. An advertiser will commit to buying a particular amount of commercial time and then pay much closer to the show's airing in the fall. With everyone still unsure of whether GM and Chrysler ...

Ssangyong preparing to lay off nearly 40% of workforce by end of June? 7 months ago on Autoblog

Ssangyong Motor Company is still struggling to gain traction after it ceased production late last year and slipped into receivership earlier this year. It restarted its production lines in February, but even the company director, Lee Yu-Il, says volume is still far too slow. To deal with matters, ...

REPORT: MI attorney general pleads for automakers to declare bankruptcy in state 7 months ago on Autoblog

As in a basketball game when players are yanking on jerseys trying to block each other out under the basket, General Motors and Chrysler's creditors have officially begun jockeying for position. Michigan's Attorney General, Mike Cox, has sent letters to the CEOs at both companies to ask that, if ...

GM ready to let Opel go for free? 7 months ago on Autoblog

General Motors wants out of Opel, and according to new reports, it is willing to let the German automaker go without receiving any money for it. The only requirement is that the buyer must inject €500 million (around $652M USD) into Opel for operations. While GM CEO Fritz Henderson has said ...

REPORT: GM hedges bets, plans to miss $1B debt payment deadline 7 months ago on Autoblog

The familiar expression goes "Better the devil you know," meaning it's preferable to deal with the nasty things you don't like but are at least familiar with. General Motors, however, doesn't seem to think so. The troubled automaker appears more ready to take its chances with bankruptcy than ...

REPORT: Chrysler Financial turns down government loan over executive pay limit stipulations 7 months ago on Autoblog

Earlier this month Chrysler Financial (CF) turned down a $750 million loan from the government meant to allow it to continue providing loans to dealers. This is where it turns into he-said-she-said: a source told the Washington Post that CF turned the loan down because a condition of the loan was ...

Ford Fiesta winning hearts and minds - and wallets - in Europe 7 months ago on Autoblog

The Ford Fiesta has already won us over -– twice – and we can't even buy the car yet. But European buyers are nabbing so many Fiestas that the Blue Oval is now enjoying a 10% market share in Europe based on the strength of the compact's sales alongside the Focus and Transit. It's ...

GM reportedly accelerating the closure of 1,700 dealers 7 months ago on Autoblog

June 1, 2009 is turning into the equivalent of General Motors' D-Day, and every day seems to bring new events that are being planned in advance of it. GM had more than 6,000 dealerships at the end of last year, and in the initial viability plan it offered to the government, the automaker pledged to ...

GM chairman Kresa admits: "Time is not on our side on trying to get things done out of bankruptcy" 7 months ago on Autoblog

If General Motors' saga were a play by Aeschylus, today marks the day when Kent Kresa, GM's interim chairman, returns from a visit to the Oracle at Delphi and informs everyone that the signs are not auspicious. There's been much talk of the bondholder issues that GM faces, and the news today is ...

Industry analyst says Australian car industry is doomed 7 months ago on Autoblog

Clive Matthew-Wilson, editor of Australia's Dog & Lemon Guide, says there's no way around a central fact of Australian automobile production: "Australia's car factories are losing money on every vehicle they make." Because of that, he believes that there is no future for the domestic car ...

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Autoblog Podcast #153: With Phil Berg

Phil Berg puts his reputation on the line and hangs with the podcast crew.

 
 

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