General Motors might pull off a profit in '06

Standard & Poor's says that GM may rebound from an $8.6 billion loss in 2005 to turn a profit for 2006. My, my, the empire truly does strike back -- if the automaker can sell off its GMAC unit and there's a happy ending to the union negotiations between the UAW and Delphi. S&P attributes the predicted gains to the initial sales of GM's new full-size SUVs -- the GMC Yukon XL, Chevy Suburban and Cadillac Escalade XL. GM's American competitors aren't expected to fare so well, however, thanks to decreasing interest in big SUVs due to highly volatile gas prices.

Not to be the bearer of all good news, however, S&P declared that if GM's situation doesn't improve, it might have to file for bankruptcy.