Thu, 12/09/2010 - 08:22 by Prince damin
Lansing, Mich. -- General Motors Co.'s bankruptcy in 2009 did everything but hurt business in the selling of old stock certificates, an antique dealer in Michigan said.
"GM is the greatest bankruptcy in my lifetime," said Lawrence Falater, who sold 500 engraved GM certificates at the Antiquarian Book & Paper Show in Lansing, Mich., in October, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday.
The artwork on the GM certificates varies from a woman sitting on a lion to etchings of cars and buses.
Falater's collection includes a stock certificate signed by Henry Ford and one signed by 12 of Ford's original 12 shareholders. His oldest: A stock certificate from the New England Motor Carriage company, that made steam powered cars more than 100 years ago.
|
Thu, 12/09/2010 - 08:15 by Prince damin
Detroit -- General Motors Co. said it had targeted Hawaii as a prime market for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles due to the state's high cost of imported petroleum fuels.
GM's executive director of global fuel cell operations Charlie Freese said the automaker is working with more than a dozen companies in an effort to add 20 hydrogen fueling stations on Oahu Island by 2015, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday.
GM, which has spent $2 billion on hydrogen fuel-cell research and development, does not have a hydrogen based automobile in production, but has allowed consumers to test a Chevrolet Equinox crossover with hydrogen fuel-cell power.
|
Thu, 12/09/2010 - 08:04 by Prince damin
Detorit -- An automobile industry analyst said Michigan's Big Three automakers should pare down their inventories by the end of the year.
General Motors Co. reported its inventory of unsold cars had reached 95 days, a jump from 75 days of inventory in August, The Detroit News reported Wednesday.
Ford's inventory has reached 71 days, near the industry's historic average but higher than the optimal number, Citi Investment Research and Analysis researcher Itay Michaeli wrote in a recent research note.
Chrysler Group LLC reported an inventory of 79 days at the end of November, the newspaper said.
|
Sat, 11/20/2010 - 22:32 by Prince damin
Detroit -- Auction gavels banged out sales of General Motors Co.'s unwanted assets this week, overshadowed by the company's return to life as a publicly-traded firm.
GM raised more than $15 billion in its post-bankruptcy initial public offering Thursday. In the past two weeks at various plants that GM abandoned in its critical and massive downsizing last year, auctioneers sold lots of hammers, wrenches and 22-ton metal-cutting machines, some of which were purchased on behalf of foreign businesses that might someday make parts for GM, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
|
Wed, 11/17/2010 - 06:58 by Prince damin
New York -- Average U.S. taxpayers who bailed out General Motors Co. will miss out on the initial stock offering that marks its return to public trading, brokers said.
The U.S. Treasury, which loaned GM $50 billion when the automaker sank into bankruptcy last year, said there would be "ample opportunity" for jumping in on the initial public offering that will take place Thursday, The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
But brokerage houses that cater to anyone near an average income have been cut out of the deal, which is being channeled through high-end firms, even as it is being managed by four banks that were also bailed out by the government during the financial crisis.
|
Wed, 11/10/2010 - 01:53 by Prince damin
Detroit -- U.S. automobile manufacturer General Motors Co. announced Tuesday that after 37 years with the company it would lay off Mr. Goodwrench.
The company did not announce a severance package for Mr. Goodwrench, who, after all, is a service brand name, not a person.
But GM said it would phase out the brand by Feb. 1 in favor of a "Certified Service" program for its four remaining automobile divisions: Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac.
"Our No. 1 priority is providing a world-class ownership experience that creates positive, long-lasting relationships with our customers," GM vice president and general manager, Steve Hill, said in a statement.
|
Tue, 11/02/2010 - 23:02 by Prince damin
New York -- General Motors Co. plans to turn the U.S. government into a minority shareholder soon, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
The government currently owns 61 percent of GM, having loaned it nearly $50 billion last summer as the firm fell into bankruptcy. By the end of November, however, GM is expected to raise $10 billion with an initial public offering, selling 24 percent of the company's holdings.
The plan also calls for the U.S. Treasury to sell $7 billion of its holdings.
Shares are expected to be priced at about $27.50 per share with initial prices to be determined Nov. 17 for a sale held Nov. 18. That would value GM at about $50 billion.
|
Wed, 09/01/2010 - 23:48 by Prince damin
Detroit -- General Motors Co. handed the keys to the car company to board member Daniel Akerson, who took over as chief executive officer Wednesday.
Akerson, previously a partner at Carlyle Group, is a relative newcomer to the automotive industry, The Detroit News reported. He takes over from Ed Whitacre Jr., who will keep his chairman position, but give up his CEO duties. The switch was announced in early August.
Foremost on Akerman's to-do list is restoring GM to the status of a public company with an initial stock offering expected this fall.
|
Thu, 08/19/2010 - 12:22 by Rakhi
Detroit -- General Motors Co. Wednesday filed registration papers for an initial public stock offering, the first since it emerged from federal bankruptcy protection.
GM plans to sell preferred and common stock as it cuts its ties to the U.S. government, which owns about 60 percent of the once-largest U.S. automaker. The U.S. Treasury spent about $50 billion to bailout GM last year and a successful IPO would allow the government and the United Auto Workers to begin reducing their stakes in the company, the Wall Street Journal said.
The Journal said the stock sale, likely in November or December, was expected raise $10 billion to $20 billion.
|
Tue, 08/17/2010 - 22:20 by Prince damin
Detroit -- General Motors Co. Tuesday announced the recall of 243,000 2009 and 2010 large crossover vehicles because of possibly faulty seat belts.
The recall includes the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook. GM said it decided to begin the recall after customers reported damaged second row seat belts after the seats are lowered and returned to their original upright position.
The maneuver can cause the seat belt to jam or, in some cases, feel properly latched when it is not, The Detroit Free Press reported.
GM dealers will repair damaged seat belts and modify a faulty piece of interior trim that can push the buckles down the strap to fix the potential problem, a GM spokesman said.
|
Tue, 08/17/2010 - 00:23 by Prince damin
Indianapolis -- Efforts to keep a General Motors Co. stamping plant in Indianapolis open hit a dead end after autoworkers refused to consider pay cuts.
United Autoworkers Region 3 Director Maurice Davison said the workers' position likely will mean GM will go ahead with closing plans, posting a schedule possibly as early as Tuesday, the Indianapolis Star reported Monday.
"The sad fact is GM is gone from Indianapolis. That's a fact," Davison said. "It's a sad day for Indianapolis."
UAW members at a union meeting Sunday defied Detroit union chiefs who negotiated wage cuts and expected the 650 Indianapolis autoworkers to vote Monday on a new contract with a potential buyer for the 70-year-old factory, the Star said.
|
Wed, 06/09/2010 - 09:45 by Rakhi
Detroit -- U.S. automaker General Motors Co. said Tuesday it was recalling 1.3 million vehicles due to a possibility of electrical system fires.
The problem originates in a heating system for washer fluids, GM said.
A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notice says simply, "It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur."
The earliest model year among the affected vehicles is 2006.
|
