GM, Bondholders Strike Sweetened Deal

(AP) - General Motors says not enough of its bondholders agreed to swap their debt for company stock, meaning the troubled automaker is almost certainly headed for bankruptcy protection. GM has until Monday to finish restructuring or file for bankruptcy. But the company said today that its offer to exchange $27 billion in unsecured debt for 10% of the company's stock had failed. More»

(NEWSER) - More bankruptcy rumblings from General Motors sent stocks down early today, but the blow was cushioned by good news from the financial sector, the Wall Street Journal reports. Citi and Bank of America had double-digit gains ahead of what are expected to be solid earnings reports. The Dow finished down 25.57 at 8,057.81; the Nasdaq rose 0.77, to 1,653.31; and the S&P 500 gained 2.17 to 858.73. More»

Government trying to unwind stock without losing on the deal

(NEWSER) - The Treasury Department has had a tough time selling off some of the stock it took on in exchange for TARP bailout funds, meaning taxpayers are still on the hook for some $132.9 billion—some of which they may never get back, according to a report released today by the government watchdog overseeing the program. Selling the stock has been complicated by swingy stock market prices, and deep dips in some of the bailed out companies, the AP reports. More»

GM vetoes deal involving Chinese company

(NEWSER) - Saab finally threw in the towel today, after former owner General Motors once again vetoed a rescue plan involving China’s Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile. Saab’s current owner, Swedish Automobile, filed for its bankruptcy, saying that "the company, without further funding, will be insolvent, and that filing bankruptcy is in the best interests of its creditors." Saab hasn’t made any cars since April, thanks to growing debts, Reuters reports. More»

Credit-default swaps predict 39% chance of failure

(NEWSER) - Wall Street oddsmakers think BP has a 39% chance of defaulting on its credit in the next five years, based on the skyrocketing price of the company’s credit default swaps. A month ago, investors had priced in just a 7% risk of default. “There’s still so much uncertainty as to what ultimately the liability is, and what the government is going to do,” one researcher told Bloomberg . More»