GM Seeks Ways Around $1B Debt Payment

Vote paves way to bankruptcy filing tomorrow morning

(NEWSER) - GM bondholders voted yesterday to forgive $27 million in debt for equity in the restructured automaker, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move opens the door for a bankruptcy filing tomorrow morning, the New York Times notes. The Treasury Department was in charge of deciding whether enough bondholders backed the offer; “more than 50% agreed,” said an insider. More»

(NEWSER) - General Motors will file for bankruptcy protection Monday, insiders tell Bloomberg. The company has apparently decided that it cannot make the government-mandated June 1 deadline to shed $44 billion in debt. The timeline is unclear, but bondholders' agreement today to forgive debts in exchange for a stake in the “new” post-bankruptcy GM apparently helped the company firm up its course of action. More»

(NEWSER) - If General Motors goes into bankruptcy next Monday—as is widely expected—the US government will own 70% of the automaker, the New York Times reports. Under a plan that GM officials detailed today to union members, the UAW would take a 17.5% stake though its health care fund, with a potential for 2.5% more. Bondholders, who have more money at risk than the UAW, would get just 10% of GM. More»

They can't afford $1,500 fees

(NEWSER) - Between 200,000 and 1 million Americans this year are so down-and-out they don't even have enough money to file for bankruptcy, a new study finds. The average cost of filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection is about $1,500—$300 just for the paperwork fees in court and the rest to pay for a lawyer, reports Yahoo! Finance . Bankruptcy is considered a "last financial lifeline" and without it, destitute Americans are seeing their debt snowball. More»

Warren confirms cuts to 25 top earners at 7 companies

(AP) - The Treasury Department today is expected to order seven companies that have not paid back last year's US government bailouts to halve their top executives' average compensation. The cuts apply to the 25 highest-paid executives at banks and other companies that received the most assistance, with salaries being slashed by as much as 90%. The move, reported last night, is "real," TARP overseer Elizabeth Warren confirmed to CBS this morning. More»