Stories tagged with "chrysler"

For all practical purposes the markets are closed right now

Posted by Jerome a Paris on July 30, 2007 - 10:00am
Topic: Economics/Finance
Tags: bonds, chrysler, citigroup, corporate debt, finance, loans, subprime [list all tags]

Banks Delay Sale Of Chrysler Debt As Market Stalls

Wall Street's corporate-debt machine has helped to finance the increasingly exotic takeover deals of the buyout boom and to shore up some of the nation's ailing industries with cheap loans and bonds. Now, that machine is sputtering.

Yesterday, Chrysler Group became a signpost for the high-yield-debt market's strain as bankers for the ailing auto giant postponed a $12 billion sale of debt to investors as part of a buyout severing Chrysler from German parent DaimlerChrysler AG.

(...)

"For all practical purposes the markets are closed right now," said Chad Leat, co-head of Global Credit Markets at Citigroup.

While you've certainly heard of the big drop in the Dow Jones in the past two days, and probably heard that the housing market keeps on getting worse, the most ominous news are actually coming from a distinct part of the financial markets - leveraged debt.

There's more… (1876 words) | Comments (230) | | Permalink | Without comments | PDF version

You decide who's to blame

Posted by Yankee on April 15, 2006 - 11:21am
Topic: Policy/Politics
Tags: automakers, big oil, chrysler, exxonmobil, jason vines [list all tags]

I'm a couple days late with this, but on Tuesday, Gristmill had an amusing post about a blog entry written by Jason Vines, Chrysler's head of PR, on their private "media blog":
Despite a documented history of blowing their exorbitant profits on outlandish executive salaries and stock buybacks, and hoarding their bounty by avoiding technologies, policies and legislation that would protect the population and environment and lower fuel costs, Big Oil insists on transferring all of that responsibility on the auto companies.

Yes, even though the automakers have spent billions developing cleaner, more efficient technologies such as high-feature engines, hybrid powertrains, multi-displacement systems, flexible fuel vehicles, and fuel cells, Big Oil would rather fill the pockets of its executives and shareholders, rather than spend sufficient amounts to reduce the price of fuel, letting consumers, during tough economic times, pick up the tab.

There's more… (356 words) | Comments (102) | | Permalink | Without comments | PDF version

Bush to GM and Ford: Build a Better Car

Posted by Glenn on January 27, 2006 - 3:03am in The Oil Drum: Local
Topic: Economics/Finance
Tags: auto industry, chrysler, delphi, ford, general motors, oil, peak oil [list all tags]

The US auto industry has not been particularly good at building car models that are well suited for fuel efficiency. The cheap oil boom they experienced in the 1990s combined with the easing of truck fuel economy standards created Minivan and SUV lines that are distinctly ill-suited for rising oil prices. As a result, a peak oil related economic transition is already underway the auto-industry. President Bush added today that they should not look to the Federal government for assistance.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal published today, President Bush said that G.M. and Ford executives have not asked him for federal aid and that he would not look favorably upon such a request. Mr. Bush said he would instead encourage the automakers to build "a product that's relevant. I would hope I wouldn't be asked to make that decision," he told The Journal.

We'll see about that when the moment comes that Ford or GM has to file some sort of backruptcy, which could be as early as this year.

There's more… (194 words) | Comments (106) | | Permalink | Without comments | PDF version