Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors turned to financial stocks following factory and home sales data that showed the economic slump could be moderating.
The U.S. auto industry struggled to restructure and added deals to get buyers back into their showrooms, hoping to mimic the incentive-driven successes their European rivals started to see during March.
Stocks rose on Wednesday as data on home sales and manufacturing added to hopes that the economic slump was moderating, prompting investors to scoop up bank shares.
The Obama administration is seeking to ease General Motors Corp into a controlled bankruptcy by persuading some creditors to agree to a plan that would divide the company into two pieces, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
European car markets reported tentative shoots of recovery on Wednesday but Honda moved to further cut U.S. output as General Motors Corp faced a rising bankruptcy risk and Chrysler raced to secure its survival.
The Obama administration is seeking to ease General Motors Corp into a controlled bankruptcy by persuading some creditors to agree to a plan that would divide the company into two pieces, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The U.S. government, now directing the turnarounds of General Motors Corp and Chrysler, has said bankruptcy for both could be fast, clean and targeted -- like surgery or a quick rinse.
A possible bankruptcy plan being discussed for General Motors includes quickly forming a new company of the automaker's most profitable parts, while a group of other units would remain under bankruptcy protection for a longer period, a source familiar with the plans told Reuters on Tuesday.
General Motors warned on Tuesday there was a rising chance it could file for bankruptcy by June as Fiat and Chrysler executives met in a race to complete a tie-up the U.S. government has said Chrysler needs to survive.
General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co announced a new series of incentives covering payments if customers lose their jobs, joining rivals in offering heavy discounts to attract consumers sidelined by the recession.
General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will close more U.S. plants and cut more jobs and still faces a higher probability of bankruptcy to shed debt, GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson said on Tuesday.
Ford Motor Co introduced an incentive covering payments for up to a year if customers lose their jobs, joining rivals in offering heavy discounts to attract consumers sidelined by a deepening recession.
Some frustrated U.S. taxpayers cheered President Barack Obama's tough steps to shore up the reeling auto industry on Monday but critics called his decision to fire General Motors' chief a heavy-handed power grab.
Canada said on Monday plans set out by the Canadian units of General Motors Corp and Chrysler don't go far enough to make them viable, but it offered C$4 billion ($3.2 billion) in bridge loans to tide the automakers over while they restructure.
President Barack Obama said on Monday said the U.S. cannot let its auto industry vanish, but didn’t rule out pain ahead for creditors, unions and other group affiliated with General Motors Corp, and Chrysler.
The following are President Obama's prepared comments on the Auto Industry and the outlook for General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC as provided by the White House.
President Barack Obama seized the wheel of the failing U.S. auto industry on Monday, forcing out General Motors Corp's chief executive, pushing Chrysler LLC toward a merger and threatening bankruptcy for both.
The Obama Administration says it will work with General Motors Inc to see the automaker eventually get a fresh start, promising more aggressive attempts to improve the business and leaving the door open for bankruptcy.
Stocks fell sharply on Monday as the Obama administration raised the specter of bankruptcy for U.S. automakers General Motors and Chrysler and Spain had to rescue regional savings bank CCM.
The U.S. task force overseeing the restructuring of the auto industry on Monday said the plans submitted by General Motors Corp and Chrysler failed to show how they could be viable.
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Monday as the Obama administration threatened bankruptcy for two major U.S. automakers and Spain had to rescue regional savings bank CCM.
General Motors Corp Chief Executive Rick Wagoner will resign from the company, a government official and another person briefed on the matter said on Sunday, a day before the government is expected to announce if it will extend more aid to GM.
