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VIDEOTicker Shock: GM Heading for Bankruptcy? Or Just Playing Chicken with Unions?
Tuesday's top stories and stocks with potential to move.
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But he’s taking these little delicate baby sips, and after each sip he says: “Ahhh.” After the fourth or fifth time, I felt my blood start to boil. And he did it the entire way home. Seriously, it almost drove me over the edge - I wanted to take that stainless-steel cup of his, spike it, and do a touchdown dance.
However, I managed to restrain myself. Barely.
Now, to get down to business: Asian stocks were a mixed bag. The Hang Seng was up almost 1%, and the Nikkei was off just over one and a half percent. However, European stocks were in positive territory earlier this morning. And here in the US, we're currently trading higher.
Here's what I'm focused on this morning:
General Motors (GM)
What a way to start a new job: Fritz Henderson, GM's brand-new CEO, told CNBC that filing for bankruptcy may be the company's best option.But I think this may be Henderson’s attempt to get the unions to play ball. They don't much like the idea of bankruptcy.
I do wonder, however, how this comment might affect new car sales. I mean I know I’d be reluctant to buy a GM vehicle right now even if the government would warranty it.
And earlier this morning, Ford (F) was out with some news that those nervous about losing their jobs might be interested in: It has a new plan that gives customers a year's worth of payment protection on any new vehicle, 0% financing and "added local charity support."
Lennar (LEN)
The big-name homebuilder was out with its first-quarter results.Excluding items, it lost $0.27. The estimate was for a loss of $0.64. Lennar also generated about $593.1 million in sales, well below the more than $1 billion it put up in the comparable period last year. Analysts had apparently been looking for a smidge north of $530 million.
While things could have been worse, I’m not exactly jumping for joy - and its backlog of homes is down more than 50% from the comparable period last year. This line in the release, about average sales price, also turned me off:
“The average sales price of homes delivered decreased to $244,000 in the first quarter of 2009 from $278,000 in the same period last year, primarily due to reduced pricing. Sales incentives offered to homebuyers were $50,500 per home delivered in the first quarter of 2009, compared to $48,000 per home delivered in the first quarter of 2008.”
Finally, while it appears that there was a small flurry of insider buying back in the October time frame, where are they now? Why aren’t they ponying up?
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