Obbligazioni societarie GM, Ford, Chrysler: il 3D dell'automotive USA

[paologorgo]

non è su GM, ma mi sembra interessante:

Chrysler's Promises in December 2000: Moral Hazard Redux?


Automobile companies recently received a bailout from the White House. They promised to restructure, become more efficient, and gave the usual platitudes. These promises aren't new. The only difference seems to be that now, the Big Three are playing with taxpayer money instead of their own. Here are some excerpts from DaimlerChrysler's letter to shareholders, dated December 2000 (author excerpts in italics/brackets):

Over the last five years, [1995-2000] we have completely restructured and refocused the DaimlerChrysler Group...In the process, we have shed not only a number of loss-making and non-core operations, but we have also considerably improved the cost structure of our automobile operations in Germany... [Great! So things should be fine now...right?]
During the course of the year, we have also taken further important steps to focus our operations on the core automobile business...[But] competitive pressure in the US automobile market increased significantly, as evidenced by the strong rise in sales incentives or discounts which are up by over one third compared with a year ago, and are almost three times what they were in 1997... [Oh, I get it. It's not you--it's your competition. You can't compete on the open market. Got it.]
The management team has a wide-ranging mandate to reposition and restructure the Chrysler business to enable it to regain its strong market position and to become highly profitable again...
In order to restore Chrysler to profitability as soon as possible what is already clear is that we must also restructure the business--this will bring with it a cost. [Sounds like the job of the "car czar" has already been done.] This expenditure however should also ensure DaimlerChyrsler maintains its position at the forefront of the modern automobile industry. [Chrysler was mentioned as the most likely candidate for bankruptcy before the bailout.]
​

It boggles my mind that our government is using our money to finance companies that can't seem to ever get it together. In a hilarious press release titled, "The $13 Billion Industry Is In No Fear Of Collapse, But Why Take Chances?", Larry Flynt satirized the notion of bailing out troubled industries.
Jokes aside, when, if ever, does moral hazard trump "too big to fail"? This question isn't just idle thinking. The bailouts have exposed a core weakness in our political system. Apparently, if you can't compete on the open market, all you need is a bunch of lobbyists to convince your government to give you taxpayer money. Luckily, in this case, the political system actually worked--Congress rejected the auto bailout plan. Even so, the White House, over the objections of the public, provided the bailout money. George W. Bush in bed with the automakers and their unions? Historians will be amused.

 

[superbaffone]

il gatto e la volpe

 

[paologorgo]

il gatto e la volpe

no, :ciuchino: e :ciuchino:...

 

[paologorgo]

solo perchè un giorno non mi accusiate che mi era sfuggito un fallimento...

Ssangyong union authorizes strike, court freezes assets


SEOUL (Reuters) - Ssangyong Motor Co's (003620.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) top shareholder, China's SAIC Motor Corp, came under increasing pressure on Monday to save Ssangyong from bankruptcy after union workers authorized a strike at the South Korean automaker.
The call for industrial action came as a South Korean court said it had frozen the debts, obligations and assets of the country's No.5 automaker and would decide in a month whether to accept the company's filing for bankruptcy protection.
"Our members approved a strike, but we will be very careful on launching an action as many of our suppliers are facing risks of bankruptcy," union spokesman Lee Chang-kun said.
Unionized workers at the maker of Rexton sport utility voted for action after saying SAIC (600104.SS: Quote, Profile, Research) had not provided sufficient financial backing for Ssangyong as it struggled with plunging car sales and liquidity problems.
SAIC has a 51 percent stake in Ssangyong, which has a line-up heavy in SUVs.
A spokeswoman at SAIC, China's biggest car maker, declined to comment on the union vote, as did a Ssangyong spokesman.
SAIC paid $500 million for a 49 percent of the South Korean firm in 2004, and it injected $45 million into Ssangyong at the end of December, according to the South Korean company.
The union also urged South Korean government to swiftly inject money to Ssangyong not only to save the company but also to prevent potential bankruptcies of suppliers.

---

SsangYong Motor Company (Hangul: 쌍용자동차; Hanja: 雙龍自動車) is the fourth largest South Korean automobile manufacturer.[1] It was founded as Hadonghwan Motor Company in 1954 and started by building jeeps for the US Army. Beginning in 1976, Hadonghwan produced a variety of special purpose vehicles. After changing its name to Dong-A Motor in 1977, it was taken over by Ssangyong Business Group in 1988 and changed its name to SsangYong Motor. The name SsangYong means twin dragons. In 1991 it started a technology partnership with Daimler-Benz (formerly DaimlerChrysler). Later, it purchased United Kingdom-based specialty car maker Panther Westwinds.
In 1997 Daewoo Motors bought a controlling stake from the Ssangyong Group, only to sell it off again in 2000, because the conglomerate ran into deep financial troubles. In late 2004, the Chinese automobile manufacturer SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) took a 51% stake of SsangYong Motor Company.
In January 2009, after recording a $75.42 million loss, the company was put into receivership. This was due to the global economic crisis and shrinking demand.[2]

 

[lorenzo63]

solo perchè un giorno non mi accusiate che mi era sfuggito un fallimento...

Ssangyong union authorizes strike, court freezes assets


SEOUL (Reuters) - Ssangyong Motor Co's (003620.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) top shareholder, China's SAIC Motor Corp, came under increasing pressure on Monday to save Ssangyong from bankruptcy after union workers authorized a strike at the South Korean automaker.
The call for industrial action came as a South Korean court said it had frozen the debts, obligations and assets of the country's No.5 automaker and would decide in a month whether to accept the company's filing for bankruptcy protection.
"Our members approved a strike, but we will be very careful on launching an action as many of our suppliers are facing risks of bankruptcy," union spokesman Lee Chang-kun said.
Unionized workers at the maker of Rexton sport utility voted for action after saying SAIC (600104.SS: Quote, Profile, Research) had not provided sufficient financial backing for Ssangyong as it struggled with plunging car sales and liquidity problems.
SAIC has a 51 percent stake in Ssangyong, which has a line-up heavy in SUVs.
A spokeswoman at SAIC, China's biggest car maker, declined to comment on the union vote, as did a Ssangyong spokesman.
SAIC paid $500 million for a 49 percent of the South Korean firm in 2004, and it injected $45 million into Ssangyong at the end of December, according to the South Korean company.
The union also urged South Korean government to swiftly inject money to Ssangyong not only to save the company but also to prevent potential bankruptcies of suppliers.

---

SsangYong Motor Company (Hangul: 쌍용자동차; Hanja: 雙龍自動車) is the fourth largest South Korean automobile manufacturer.[1] It was founded as Hadonghwan Motor Company in 1954 and started by building jeeps for the US Army. Beginning in 1976, Hadonghwan produced a variety of special purpose vehicles. After changing its name to Dong-A Motor in 1977, it was taken over by Ssangyong Business Group in 1988 and changed its name to SsangYong Motor. The name SsangYong means twin dragons. In 1991 it started a technology partnership with Daimler-Benz (formerly DaimlerChrysler). Later, it purchased United Kingdom-based specialty car maker Panther Westwinds.
In 1997 Daewoo Motors bought a controlling stake from the Ssangyong Group, only to sell it off again in 2000, because the conglomerate ran into deep financial troubles. In late 2004, the Chinese automobile manufacturer SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) took a 51% stake of SsangYong Motor Company.
In January 2009, after recording a $75.42 million loss, the company was put into receivership. This was due to the global economic crisis and shrinking demand.[2]

That's unbelievable... (La notizia..)
Per l' accusa si troverà, tranquillo, qualcos'altro

 

[paologorgo]

U.S. 2009 auto sales seen falling 13 pct


DETROIT, Jan 13 (Reuters) - U.S. auto sales in 2009 should fall around 13 percent and push some automakers closer to the verge of collapse, industry analysts said on Tuesday.
Automotive forecasting firm J.D. Power and Associates expects U.S. light vehicle sales for the year to fall to around 11.4 million units, while Deutsche Bank expects sales of 11.5 million units, representatives said at a Society of Automotive Analysts (SAA) roundtable on the sidelines of the North American International Auto Show.
"We believe we're near the bottom, or at the bottom," said J.D. Power president Finbarr O'Neill. "The market will come back, but it won't come back to where it was before."
In the meantime, he added, "there's a lot of speculation about who's going to win and who's going to lose."
U.S. first-quarter 2009 auto sales were seen ticking up to an annualized rate of 10.9 million units, from a rate of 10.2 million in the fourth quarter, he said.
O'Neill said J.D. Power -- whose forecasts are used throughout the auto industry -- expects global auto sales will fall 8.2 percent in 2009.
North American sales should drop 12.3 percent, while car sales in Europe should fall 14.9 percent. Sales in South America and Asia should slide 3.9 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, according to J.D. Power
"Let's maintain our sense of humor folks," O'Neill told attendees. "We're going to need it."
J.D. Power expects U.S. auto sales to rise to 13.4 million units in 2010 and 14.7 million units in 2011.
The SAA event comes as the U.S. auto industry struggles through one of its worst downturns in decades, with the world's largest economy in recession and consumers unable to obtain loans to buy cars amid the continuing global credit crisis. "THE WALKING DEAD"
U.S. auto sales dropped 18 percent in 2008, pushing General Motors Corp (GM.N) and Chrysler LLC [CBS.UL] -- controlled by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP -- to the brink of collapse.
In December the Bush administration approved $17.4 billion in emergency loans for GM and Chrysler. But conditions attached to that bailout include automakers proving their long-term viability by March 31, plus obtaining fresh concessions from the United Auto Workers union and from holders of their debt.
Ford Motor Co (F.N) has not sought federal loans but asked for a $9 billion credit line if economic conditions worsen.
Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Lache said at the SAA event that if GM and Ford close the wage gap with Asian rival Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) they could save $3 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively.
J.D. Power's O'Neill said the drop in U.S. auto sales to 13.2 million units in 2008 from more than 16.1 million units in 2007, plus the expected decrease this year means the industry is "one or two car companies" down in terms of volume.
"Somebody is the walking dead out there," he said.
Deutsche Bank's Lache said that the probability of an automaker going bankrupt as the industry tries to weather the downturn is "greater than not."
"There's no guarantee that all of the automakers are going to survive this process," he said. "There is much more systemic risk than we've ever seen."
(Reporting by Nick Carey and David Bailey)

 

[paologorgo]

COLLETTA SU INVESTIRE OGGI, SUBITO!!!!!

Lutz has been in the car business for 45 years, so it's a change for him to operate on the federal government's nickel.
"I've never quite been in this situation before of getting a massive pay cut, no bonus, no longer allowed to stay in decent hotels, no corporate airplane. I have to stand in line at the Northwest counter," Lutz says. "I've never quite experienced this before. I'll let you know a year from now what it's like."
And in terms of the decisions that executives make at GM, how are they different? Lutz says they don't know. That's because Washington has not yet appointed a car czar, the government's designee to oversee the loans to GM and Chrysler.

Aiutiamo subito il povero vice chairman GM, donate almeno un cedolone alla colletta organizzata da questo forum, ed insegnategli a fare la fila in aeroporto... (no, Wagoner non è l'unico problema dell'azienda, sono tutti così... )

 

[paologorgo]

For GM, Bankruptcy Is Termed More Likely Than Not

A Deutsche Bank analyst says the company is unlikely to meet March debt goals, but that suppliers needn't worry about a reorganization

A leading Wall Street analyst said Jan. 13 that he doesn't think General Motors (GM) will be able to restructure its debt to the satisfaction of the U.S. Treasury, which is lending the company billions of dollars, without the help of a federal bankruptcy judge.
"The chances are greater than not that there will be bankruptcy, at least for GM," said Rod Lache, auto analyst for Deutsche Bank (DB), speaking in Detroit at a conference sponsored by the Society of Automotive Analysts during the North American International Auto Show. "But it won't be the disruptive, scary bankruptcy that suppliers fear."
Lache's call came a day after GM Chairman and CEO G. Richard Wagoner Jr. could only say that he hoped to "avoid bankruptcy" and admitted that proving the company's financial viability to lawmakers in time is "not certain." GM officials did not return phone calls at press time to respond to Lache's comment.

Car Czar Call

GM last month accepted $9.4 billion in emergency loans from the U.S. Treasury and is hoping to get another $4 billion next month. But according to the plan laid out by Treasury, GM and Chrysler (which received $4 billion), have to prove viability, as determined by a yet unnamed "car czar," by Mar. 31. If they fail, the emergency loans are callable by the government and the companies will be allowed to enter reorganization under federal bankruptcy laws.
Ford, the least financially troubled of the three, has applied for a $9 billion line of credit from the Treasury, but has not asked for any loans. Ford, too, has to prove financial viability to qualify for the credit line.
Lache said GM must restructure its $62 billion in debt, including converting $30 billion in unsecured debt into $10 billion in new bonds, secured by hard assets, and $20 billion in equity. But about 20% of unsecured bondholders won't convert voluntarily, he said. "GM must get a bankruptcy court to order that."
GM, as well as Chrysler and Ford (F), have been saying for months that a bankruptcy would spell disaster for the companies, because the public would lose faith in a car company that was in Chapter 11. "It wouldn't be reorganization…it would be liquidation," Wagoner said in December in congressional testimony.

Urgency Lost

Lache's pessimism regarding GM was echoed by Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who was touring the auto show on Jan. 13. Corker said "the sense of urgency of the problem was lost when legislation failed last month that would have spelled out what had to be done." Corker was referring to a bill that he worked on, which laid out in specific terms what the United Auto Workers and debt holders had to agree to in order for GM and Chrysler to show financial viability.
The wild card for GM and Chrysler is who the incoming Obama Administration will tap as the car czar and how much discretion he or she applies to determining "financial viability." President-elect Barack Obama has made it clear that he doesn't want to see GM, Chrysler, or Ford go bankrupt or fail, and see the economy suffer potentially millions of lost jobs while the economy is already in recession.
One name that has surfaced as a candidate for czar in the last week is Steven Rattner, co-founder of private equity firm Quadrangle Group. Rattner, 56, is a former New York Times reporter who started Morgan Stanley's (MS) acquisitions group in 1984 and moved to what was then Lazard Frères before creating Quadrangle in 2000. "He fits the bill," said Lache. "He is a fund manager. He can look at a plan and say it does or doesn't make sense."
However, Chrysler's ownership could raise questions about Rattner's acceptability. The carmaker's majority owner is private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which also is among the lenders to Alpha Media Group, one of Quadrangle's holdings.
A spokesman for Rattner declined to comment.
Kiley is a senior correspondent in BusinessWeek's Detroit bureau.

 

[paologorgo]

AUTOSHOW-Top quotes from Detroit auto show

DETROIT, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Top automotive industry
executives gathered at the media preview for the North American
International Auto Show in Detroit, starting on Sunday. Following are some of the notable quotes:
MIKE JACKSON, CEO, AUTONATION INC (AN.N: Quote, Profile, Research)
"I have seen a better mood at funerals," he told Reuters
TV.
IRV MILLER, GROUP VICE PRESIDENT, TOYOTA MOTOR SALES USA
(7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research)
"Last summer's $4-a-gallon gasoline was no anomaly. It was
a brief glimpse of our future."
BEDA BOLZENIUS, AUTO BUSINESS PRESIDENT, JOHNSON CONTROLS
INC (JCI.N: Quote, Profile, Research)
"There was no carmaker CEO out there who has not stated
it's completely impossible to predict what 2009 will be."
BOB NARDELLI, CEO, CHRYSLER LLC [CBS.UL]
"We reduced layers, expanded job responsibility...no one
around the table should read this as us trying to position it
for sale," he said of Chrysler.
FINBARR O'NEILL, PRESIDENT, J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES
"We believe we're near the bottom, or at the bottom. The
market will come back, but it won't come back to where it was
before," he said of 2009 U.S. auto sales.
"Let's maintain our sense of humor folks. We're going to
need it."
"Somebody is the walking dead out there," he said of auto
manufacturers.
BOB LUTZ, VICE CHAIRMAN, GENERAL MOTORS CORP (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research)
"We all recognize we want to use less petroleum. The way
you use less of something in the marketplace is to raise the
prices. At some point, those who make rules have to recognize
the fact."
On GM's wholly owned Saab unit: "Frankly they've been on GM life support. It's just an
unending string of losses and the hope is always with the next
generation of products they'll make money ... but when you look
at the financial results it's just never happened."
TAMMY JONES, CHRYSLER EMPLOYEE AND UNITED AUTO WORKERS
MEMBER
"The concessions that Bush wants us to make are just a slap
in our faces. People fought and died for our rights and we must
fight to keep them."
BILL FORD, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, FORD MOTOR CO (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research)
"Right now as we see it we're comfortable, but we have
asked for a line of credit just in case the world implodes as
we know it," he said of U.S. government loans.
"We are betting long term that fuel becomes dear and that
energy independence becomes important not only to Americans,
but people around the world. The bigger risk is to do
nothing." "If we go ahead and launch these vehicles and there is no
infrastructure to charge them, the utilities aren't on board
and there isn't incentive for the customers ... we could launch
these vehicles into dead space," he said of electric vehicles.
JIM MCDOWELL, VICE PRESIDENT, BMW'S(BMWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) MINI USA
"It must be said that 2009 has not started out as the most
optimistic of years, and a convertible is one of the most
feel-happy products out there," he said at the introduction of
a new convertible model.
MATTHIAS WISSMAN, PRESIDENT, GERMAN AUTO INDUSTRY
ASSOCIATION VDA
"We, the German auto industry, have decided to use exactly
this crisis to go on the offensive and win market share."
RICHARD COLLIVER, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, HONDA AMERICA
(7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research)
"We're not even forecasting because whatever we forecast,
we would be wrong. If you look at the last 120 days, if that
trend continues then we're looking at a significant reduction
(from 2008)."
DAVID CHAMPION, SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR AUTOMOTIVE TESTING,
CONSUMER REPORTS
"You reap what you sow. If you were at GM, Ford and
Chrysler in the '80s and early '90s, their vehicles were
appalling in terms of product quality."
JAMES BELL, EDITOR, INTELLICHOICE.COM
"Everyone needed to get over the fact that they're not No.
1 anymore," he said of GM. "It's Toyota."
"Ford got a lot of credit for not going to the well, but
that's only because they already mortgaged their future," he
said of last year's automaker government aid requests.
MASATAMI TAKIMOTO, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, TOYOTA
"In a way, we're back to where the industry was 100 years
ago, when it was moving away from steam-powered cars and
competing with horse-drawn carriages. But this time it will be
a lot more difficult because we have carbon dioxide and other
harmful emissions to worry about."
"Toyota believes that in the long run we'll have small
electric cars for short-distance driving, plug-in hybrids that
run on biofuels for regular use, and on a bigger scale hydrogen
fuel-cell cars will survive in the end game."
FRITZ HENDERSON, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, GM
"People are wondering, 'Is the company going to make it? Is
the company going to be viable?' Until we actually answer those
questions more satisfactorily, we'll continue to have that kind
of volatility."
LEWIS BOOTH, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, FORD
"We still believe there is a good chance for a recovery
starting in the second half."
PETER DELORENZO, PUBLISHER, AUTOEXTREMIST.COM
"Ford is clearly distancing themselves from what I now
refer to as the old Detroit Two."
"There's kind of a Jekyll-and-Hyde thing going on with
General Motors."
On Chrysler: "I call it the dead car company walking
despite Nardelli's pronouncements. There are too many serious
problems hovering over Chrysler right now."
"Being put under the microscope in Washington just opened a
Pandora's box of attention on the Detroit automakers."

(Editing by Peter Bohan and Kevin Krolicki)

 

[paologorgo]

Chrysler in talks with Renault and Magna: sources


DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler is in talks to sell key assets to Nissan-Renault and auto supplier Magna as it rushes to restructure after taking $4 billion U.S. government loans, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.
The string of potential deals would deepen ties between Chrysler LLC and two of its key current partners but could also mark the end of the struggling No. 3 U.S. automaker as an independent venture.
Renault-Nissan and Chrysler, which is owned by Cerberus Capital Management, had some contact about a sale of all or parts of the U.S. automaker last year before the U.S. government stepped in to bail out Chrysler and GM in December.
The present round of talks with Renault-Nissan gathered momentum in recent weeks and has included discussions about a deal to sell Chrysler's iconic Jeep brand, according to three people with knowledge of the talks.
Renault-Nissan, an alliance headed by Carlos Ghosn, has been looking to clarify whether a deal to acquire assets from Chrysler would jeopardize the company's access to U.S. government funding, one of those familiar with the talks said.
Representatives of Chrysler, Cerberus, Magna and Nissan had no comment. Renault, which owns a controlling 44 percent stake in Nissan, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said this week that he was not preparing the struggling automaker for sale.
Ghosn has repeatedly said he would not consider a deal that would involve spending cash in an uncertain market. (trad. la compro a gratis, con i soldi dei taxpayer americani... )
Chrysler has also discussed selling its assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, to supplier Magna in exchange for long-term production contracts, according to the three people familiar with the automaker's talks.
In a separate set of deals, Chrysler is also looking to sell the tooling and other assets related to its PT Cruiser model, the three said.
Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican who has been one of the auto industry's most outspoken critics in Washington, said on Tuesday that Chrysler could be made more viable by merging with a larger automaker.
"They probably would be better if they were attached to a larger platform," Corker said as he toured the Detroit auto show.
Corker, whose home state includes the North American headquarters of Nissan and one of the Japanese automaker's assembly plants, met on Tuesday with representatives of U.S. automakers, including Chrysler.
Chrysler was given $4 billion in U.S. government loans earlier this month and has said it plans to ask for another $3 billion in funding to head off a cash crisis.
Chrysler's U.S. sales dropped 30 percent last year and it burned through more than $9 billion in the last six months of the year to end 2008 with around $2 billion in cash.