GM bondholders reject debt swap, bankruptcy looms; Dow falls 173
CBS
Transcript
all signs point to bankruptcy for General Motors the company failed to reach an agreement with its bondholders who rejected an offer to swap debt for stock GM needed to get the deal done in order to qualify for more loans from the government it's now widely expected to file for chapter 11 between now and the June first deadline Chrysler in the meantime is trying to come out of bankruptcy it's asking a judge for permission to sell the bulk of its assets to a group headed by italy's fiat the sale is being challenged by some chrysler dealers as well as bondholders if it's not approved by june fifteenth fiat has the option of backing out the uncertainty in the auto industry through a damper over Wall Street Stocks pulled back after yesterday's big rally the dow fell 173 points the Nasdaq dropped 19 points also today a health check on the nation's banking industry the government says earnings are in the plus column so far this year higher trading revenue helped the banks turn seven and a half billion dollars in profit for the first quarter on the other hand bad loans continue to stack up leading to more bank failures in fact the government's list of problem banks has grown to over 300 bargain hunters are prowling the housing market and that boosted sales of pre-owned homes by nearly three percent in April according to the national association of realtors most of the sales are in the lower price range and activity is starting to pick up in the mid-range the higher price properties are still a tough sell that's your money watch for more business headlines log onto CBS moneywatch.com in New York I'm Karen Brown