General Motors (GM):
 Some news out this morning on the big-name automaker.

A CNBC article quotes its COO as saying the following regarding the month of February: "It'll be an exceptionally weak fleet month. We would expect the overall … level to be again at levels that we haven't seen since the early 1980s and exceptionally weak."

The reason I’m reporting this is not to be the bearer of bad news, rather for 2 legitimate reasons:

1. CNBC also reports that sales numbers are due out today, so this is meant to be kind of a heads-up.

2. The comment makes me think that it’s only a matter of time until the company has its hand out, looking for money again.

I think the picture is a pretty grim one. If you're so inclined, take a gander at this and watch Fritz Henderson’s (the company's COO) interview with the CNBC reporter. See what you think. Is GM worth dabbling in at $2 and change a share? You be the judge.

International Game Technology (IGT):
 The well-known gaming-machine maker said its board declared a $0.06-a-share dividend.

I think there's both good and bad news here. The bad news: It’s a bit of a bummer for existing shareholders, mainly because the previous dividend was $0.145 a share.

The good news: The move is likely to save plenty of coin. Per the release it “will preserve approximately $100 million in cash on an annualized basis.”

Heck, $0.06 a share isn’t so bad either in my book. Once its paid out (if we use last night’s closing price), it would sport a forward yield of nearly 3%. (Of course, the actual forward yield will depend on the share price at that point.)

Again, not terrific news for the common shareholder as far as I’m concerned, but I do want to point out that I like this company, and think this is one of those stocks that has the potential to pop back in a big way once the economic dust clears. Incidentally, the company is expected to earn $1.02 a share this year. Not bad, considering the stock can be had for just north of $8.

Have a great day!