More Economic Good News: GM sales up 23% in January

[whitehall]

Take a drive through Detroit sometime. 23% is promising for G.M. but unemployment is above 10% in Motor City. It's no secret that Obama spent taxpayers money to save union pensions. GM would have done just as well if it went into bankruptcy.

 

[uscitizen]

With what GM sold off and such it pretty much did go into a soft bankruptcy.

 

[boedicca]

Question for the right wingnutz.

Is GM sales being up a good thing or not?

Yes. However, GM will be right back where it was before as It hasn't addressed the $100 billion in pension liabilities. Matter of fact, they haven't put a dime into the pension plan in years. But, for now the unions are happy, and that was the goal.

Next time, let em go bankrupt. Then they'll be forced to deal with the 800 pound gorilla in the room.

They even admitted they were in trouble in the S-1 for the IPO:


With two profitable quarters under its belt, the “new” General Motors is preparing to seek new investors, the first step toward cutting its ties to the U.S. government.

The $3.8 billion it earned before interest and taxes in the first half of 2010 sounds OK, but you can’t trust the numbers. Why?

Because GM said so.

The most glaring of many disclosures contained in the 734-page IPO document is this warning on page 25:

“We have determined that our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting are currently not effective. The lack of effective internal controls could materially adversely affect our financial condition and ability to carry out our business plan.”

The company goes on to say:

“Until we have been able to test the operating effectiveness of remediated internal controls and ensure the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, any material weaknesses may materially adversely affect our ability to report accurately our financial condition and results of operations in the future in a timely and reliable manner. In addition, although we continually review and evaluate internal control systems to allow management to report on the sufficiency of our internal controls, we cannot assure you that we will not discover additional weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting.”

Say what?

That’s a bunch of legalese, but basically, GM is saying it can’t guarantee its reported results are accurate. And its auditor, Deloitte & Touche, agrees. But GM wants you to invest in the company anyway.

Why Can’t You Trust General Motors’ Financials? Because GM Says You Can’t. - Joann Muller - Transmissions - Forbes


What a scam. The U.S. government would need a price over $50 to break even, but sold a chunk of its stake in the low 30s. Why? So a bunch of Obama Cronies could make money off of fees.

 

[Dr.House]

GM reports solid 23% sales gain in January - Drive On: A conversation about the cars and trucks we drive - USATODAY.com

Once left for dead, the US Auto industry is showing strength once again. TARP bailouts, which were decried as wasting good money after bad are proving to be a wise investment

General Motors saw a 23% sales increase in January compared with the year before as customers returned to new-car showrooms.


Most encouraging was the 36% increase in so-called retail sales, individuals buying new cars, not just big sales to fleet customers such as rental car agencies that are less profitable. Those fleet sales were down 7% compared with the same month a year ago.

What a differene a few months makes...

U.S. Weighs Summer GM Stock Sale - WSJ.com

The U.S. government plans to sell a significant share of its remaining stake in General Motors Co. this summer despite the disappointing performance of the auto maker's stock, people familiar with the matter said.

A sale within the next several months would almost certainly mean U.S. taxpayers will take a loss on their $50 billion rescue of the Detroit auto maker in 2009.

To break even, the U.S. Treasury would need to sell its remaining stake—about 500 million shares—at $53 apiece. GM closed off 27 cents a share at $29.97 in 4 p.m. trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, hitting a new low since its $33-a-share November initial public offering.

Shares have been hurt by rising fuel prices, industry production disruptions and management turnover. At Monday's price, and taking into account shares sold during the IPO, taxpayers would lose more than $11 billion on the rescue if the government dumped the rest of its stake now.

 

[boedicca]

I'd say that GM is the Poster Child for Government INVESTMENT: A big loser for taxpayers while muchos taxpayer dollaros go to Big Government Cronies.

 

[Dr.House]

I'd say that GM is the Poster Child for Government INVESTMENT: A big loser for taxpayers while muchos taxpayer dollaros go to Big Government Cronies.

0bama has the reverse Midas touch....



It wasn't about bailing out GM... It was about bailing out union pension funds....

 

[boedicca]

Yes, the Union Bail Out agenda was quite evident from the get go.

 

[Dr.House]

I'm surprised leftwinger hasn't reported this turn of events...

 

[Mr Liberty]

So, The end justifies the means --- again. At least that s how it looks for now. GM and the rest of the TARP was no earned money. It was printed. We will pay in the form of inflation. Let's revisit this in eighteen months. Only then, will we know the true value of TARP.

 

[boedicca]

I'm surprised leftwinger hasn't reported this turn of events...

He's waiting for the Talking Points to show how this will be actually profitable for the taxpayers.

 

[Mr Liberty]

You are a fool.
Anyone who was going to donate their car tfor that period took the tax credit instead by handing it in for wrecking. That was an entire half year of donations lost by the charities.

But your sorry ass job was saved.....some employee you are....

FREAKING POSTING ON THIS SITE DURING THE WORK DAY

You say I hate the American worker?

Seems you only like what is good for you.

Selfish piece of shit cluelss liberal.

Oooh. I overshot my lunch hour by 10 lousy minutes arguing with stupid, which apparently has no point, I see. My boss takes 2 hour lunches and goes out for a 10 minute smoke break EVERY EFFING HOUR. I don't take any breaks, so I don't feel so bad about it. And he makes much more than I do and I do all the dirty work. My department practically falls apart when I take any time off and I'm made to feel REALLY guilty for taking my two weeks at once, so don't call me a lazy employee, asshole.

So, your moral value is "if I see a supervisor stealing from the company, then I can steal from the company" Is that correct?

 

[Mr. Peepers]

So, your moral value is "if I see a supervisor stealing from the company, then I can steal from the company" Is that correct?

I get two ten minute breaks each day that I never take, so I'm not stealing anything. If anything, I'm owed another 10 minutes. However, I do not take an extra hour + 9-10 15 minute smoke breaks every day.

 

[Claudette]

I'd say that GM is the Poster Child for Government INVESTMENT: A big loser for taxpayers while muchos taxpayer dollaros go to Big Government Cronies.

0bama has the reverse Midas touch....



It wasn't about bailing out GM... It was about bailing out union pension funds....

Yup. OL'BO had to bail out the unions. After all how many millions did they spend to get him elected??

Payback is a bitch for the taxpayer but a bonanza for the UAW.