| Chevy Volt Won't Make Money, But Still Key To Any GM Revival |
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--(www.FinancialNewsUSA.com)-- 06/22/2009 - Auto Manufacturers industry news provided by Financial News USA. The plug-in hybrid, scheduled to launch in late 2010, won't be a moneymaker for GM, at least not initially, even at $40,000 a pop. Its main goal is to change GM's image as unreliable and obsolete -- and lure Americans back to GM showrooms, analysts said. "It's an image-changer in the sense that it's trying to convey that GM is really out front from a technological standpoint," said David Zoia, editorial director at Wards-Auto.com. "It's a marketing tool." At first, analysts expect the Volt will attract first adopters of new technology and those concerned about global warming. It may also attract buy-American types, though worries about GM's viability or anger over its federal bailout may spur them to shop for a Ford (NYSE:F) or other vehicle instead. The Volt is a plug-in hybrid, which combines a gasoline engine with an electric motor that can be charged using a conventional wall outlet. [Read the full article] GM suspended operations for at least three months at its auto assembly plant in Venezuela's central Carabobo state, affecting 1,600 full-time employees who will see their salaries cut to minimum wage during the shutdown. A smaller plant that produces trucks will continue operating in a nearby town. Car sales soared in Venezuela in recent years as high oil prices fueled a consumer spending boom. In March, the sector employed 40,000 people and indirectly created another 100,000 jobs, according to Venezuela's Automotive Chamber. GM is the country's largest automaker, producing more than half of the 54,000 cars assembled in the first five months of 2009, according to the chamber. But auto output had already declined by 9.7 percent this year through May as government currency controls restricted imports, pushing GM to close its doors. [Read the full article] Auto Parts Manufacturing Mississippi is not shutting down the plant, special counsel Dennis Cuneo emphasized. "What they hope to do is keep a few folks in maintenance until the start of production" in Blue Springs, he said. He said the buyout offers have been planned for some time. "This has nothing to do with the rumors that the Prius will be built in California," Cuneo added. Barbara McDaniel, a spokeswoman for Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America, has denied the rumors. Citing an uncertain economy and a downturn in auto sales, Toyota announced in December that it was postponing production in Blue Springs indefinitely. The 400,000-square-foot plant is all but complete. Cuneo said work continues on the paint shop, which should be finished in October. Toyota Auto Body, APMM's parent company, announced in mid-2007 that it was looking for a location in north Mississippi. [Read the full article] We've found a bunch of various hedge fund tidbits that aren't long enough to merit their own article, so we decided to collectively assemble them into this melting pot of a post. Without further ado, we present some of the news that has surfaced out of hedge fund land over the recent days:- George Soros has called credit default swaps "instruments of destruction" and thinks they should be banned. Shorting via credit default swaps allows limited risk and unlimited profit potential in a sense. Soros argues that those selling CDS receive limited profit potential and unlimited risk, yielding a clear imbalance. Soros said, "People buy a CDS not because they expect an eventual default but because they expect them to appreciate in response to the adverse developments." He cites AIG as a major loser in this regard as they were a large seller of CDS and were on the receiving end of the negative reward spectrum. [Read the full article] About Financial News USA Financial News USA is a Next Generation Financial Communications firm focused on the distribution of market moving news. Financial News USA has developed leading edge e-publishing tools including programming proprietary RSS feeds and enabling open source press release publishing across its network. Financial News USA has been aggressively expanding its news distribution network by targeting direct feeds to financial news and data providers such as FinancialContent, Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), among others. Financial News USA offers a free news feed available online (www.financialnewsusa.com) to websites and financial services looking for content and for individual investors looking to stay informed on the financial markets. Financial News USA and its affiliates charge each client cash for news distribution and may take an equity position in the companies mentioned herein, please visit the disclaimer at www.financialnewsusa.com. 
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