Rumours of GM future

[ltd]

This was taken from todays herald.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/com...5E1702,00.html

The gist of it is thus,

Dollar up against GM speculation

27oct05

THE Australian dollar closed higher today among speculation that US car giant General Motors could be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

At 1630 AEST the local currency was trading at $US0.7571/74, above yesterday's close of 0.7557/60.
During the day's trade it reached a low of $US0.7525 and a high of 0.7586.

ANZ's senior currency strategist Craig Ferguson said the US dollar had weakened on the back of GM's rumoured impending Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

News confirming that GM and GMAC Financial Services were served subpoenas by the US Securities and Exchange Commission as part of an investigation into its accounting practices.



Mr Ferguson said the idea of bankruptcy was refuted by a GM spokesman as "absolutely untrue".

"That didn't stop the USD weakening about half a per cent in Asian trading, due to fears of a fall on Wall Street tonight," he said.

Apart of the GM news, it has been a quiet day, Mr Ferguson said.

"The focus going in to next week will be the (US) Fed and rasing rates and the likelihood of them raising rates which should support the US dollar and may cap any Aussie upside," he said.

On the local front, the Reserve Bank of Australia meets on Tuesday, but is not likely to raise interest rates.

At 1600 AEST the Australian dollar on the Reserve Bank of Australia's trade weighted index (TWI) was at 64.5 points compared to yesterday's close of 64.4 points.



This is not a gloating thread, just amazed though at how astute others have been in other threads.

Don't know what the immediate ramifications would be for Holden if GM did file for bankruptcy. I'd hazard a guess though that the US Government would do what they did with the airlines, and send billions in financial assistance, as the concertina effect could possibly cause a recession with the sudden surge in unemployment throughout the USA.