GM posts big loss

[CHIMO]

DETROIT — General Motors Corp. lost $1.2 billion, or $2.09 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2005, dragged down by losses in its North American division. The auto maker also said Thursday that it lost $3.4 billion, or $5.99 per share, in all of 2005.

GM's fourth-quarter losses compare to a profit of $726 million, or $1.28 per share, in the October-December period of 2004. Revenues were $51.2 billion for the quarter, down slightly from $51.4 billion a year ago.

Full-year revenues were $192.8 billion, down slightly from $193.5 billion in 2004.

Wall Street analysts were expecting a loss of 16 cents per share on revenues of $41.7 billion in the fourth quarter, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. Analysts forecast a loss of $4.19 per share on revenues of $158 billion for the year.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060126.wgmgm0126/BNStory/Business

[Burried News]

1. Awww this ain't right ... can't we bail them out? Here yago GM

a golden Parachute fer yer.




OOooooppps

[mikeytherat]

2. Bail 'em out? Chimpy says, "No."

Bush to GM, Ford: Make more appealing cars
President tells newspaper that he'd be reluctant to bail out nation's automakers.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/26/news/companies/bush_autos.reut/?cnn=yes

Attention Detroit:
Like New Orleans, You Are Own Your Own

mikey_the_rat

[Burried News]

3. Aww he's just playing hard to get. Timing is everything.

[Not_So_Right_Wing]

13. NO BAIL OUT!

The government should not have to bail out these companies for their obvious blunders. We should definitely take care of the workers, but screw these companies they have avoided making decent, fuel efficient cars for so long that they have cornered themselves out of the market.
Sometimes it takes a slap in the face to wake people up.

Help the workers - screw the company! Let them fix what they broke.

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. Maybe GM could go begging to Conoco Philips who posted a

13 billion dollar profit for '05 an increase of 66% over '04! :grr: No price gouging my a$$! :mad:

[jseankil]

15. G.M. wants to create hydrogen cars, Bush doesn't want that to bear fruit

He about protecting oil companies, if anythign G.M. is a threat to that with their hydrogen program.

[Tin Man]

4. Those figures are staggering!

And the future doesn't look real promising either - just wait until the Chinese begin exporting cars to North America.

[bleedingheart]

6. If GM goes belly up...it could create a national depression

there are a ton of small and medium and even large businesses that have had GM as one of their main buyers.

[Dissenting_Prole]

7. It's only a matter of time

The sooner the crash, the less it will hurt our cushy-soft bums.

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. Something to look forward too?

Well yippee! :bounce: :sarcasm: Too bad, because it didn't/doesn't have too be this way.


edited to add this :sarcasm:.

[bleedingheart]

10. I work for a company that supplies GM, luckily they aren't our

only client, but...it would dent our bottom line if GM goes into the shitter.

I forsee a big breakup of all the GM subsidiaries...I forsee the Finance division divesting itself first and then watch as any profitable divisions are spun off or sold to the highest bidder.

GM could have fixed this even three years ago but they refused to see the way of the future. There is no reason people have to sacrifice looks and luxury for fuel efficiency and reliability...

[SammyWinstonJack]

11. It's not looking good, is it? My husband works at a GM dealership.

for now anyway. :shrug:

[Tyler Durden]

14. Try INTERNATIONAL depression.

The economies of the Capitalists/Corporatists are balanced on a razor's edge. If GM tanks, the Auto Industry/supplier network tanks, the workers stop buying, the economy tanks.

This is the trap of "The Market." Time to stop basing life choices for the people of the world on what some "Marketing" puke thinks will "Sell."

[sarcasmo]

9. Bankruptcy is on the horizon.

[PATRICK]

12. The Dumb Award

As GM goes so goes...

Most industries even when a new technology rapidly overtakes them from outside make a timely effort. Certainly when they realize declining profits will cripple their ability both to undertake transition and keep the stocks up. Certainly when economic measures they will to take to shore up their stock shares will further cripple their ability to compete. Most certainly when all the future has been known, plans and development in the vault for many years and even strategies in place.

But no. Sometimes a behemoth is just a behemoth. Plans and knowledge are nothing without timely action, drastic action by the standards of present false comfort and fat profits. Supposedly it was supposed to go down like this:

Oil prices skyrocket. People and government demand and support a new generation of cars. The miserly industry was supposed to milk hybrids to keep the oil industry happy and the situation less radical. But the destructive power of capitalism and its poisoning of the civil sector has come home to die in the roost. Blame corporate champ Bush for bungling the oil war into a premature, grinding oil crisis and passion to cut loose from Arab oil and costly gas guzzlers. Blame the public for stampeding away from Madison Avenue suicide advocates. Blame the workers for having too much and not being there because you had tto lay them off for having too much that is needed to bail out certain defeat. Blame the government
that was corrupted for now denying help with the pension funds because it is even more suicidally anti-labor than the conflicted board room.

When Bush came in their own magazines talked modestly about hybrids. then they did little or nothing for years waiting for some neocon rabbit out of Bush's empty hat. The hat is still empty, so are the oil wells and gas tanks of America's biggest dinosaur.

[yellowcanine]

16. Crappy car Karma. I am still pissed off about the 76 Chevette I owned.

FOUR timing belts before I gave up and traded it.