From Bloomberg:
GMAC Inc., the home and auto lender, is discussing with the Obama administration an additional aid package of about $3 billion to $4 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The size of the assistance remains under negotiation, the person said on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. A deal may [...]

From the Guardian:
General Motors announces closure of 62-year-old Swedish carmaker after collapse of negotiations with Spyker
One of the most famous names in European motoring, Saab, is set to be consigned to automotive history following a decision today by its owner, General Motors, to shut down the business after a last-ditch attempt at a sale failed.
GM [...]

From Reuters:
A deal by General Motors Co GM.UL to sell its Saab brand collapsed on Tuesday when the buyer pulled out in a move that threatens the Swedish luxury brand with closure.
GM had been aiming to close a deal by the end of next month to sell Saab to a partnership led by the Swedish [...]

This comes via Deal Book at the New York Times.
The company’s chief executive, Fritz Henderson, called the repayment plan “a personal commitment.” The Obama administration, wardens of the 60 percent taxpayer stake in the company, declared itself “encouraged” by the news. Many commentators followed suit. But in the premature rush to herald the beginning of [...]

There are a lot of threads to tie together in today’s reporting of news in the auto sector.
General Motors has reported a third-quarter loss of $1.15 billion. But all indications are that car sales continue to outpace expectations in the United States.  Meanwhile, there are conflicting stories that GM both plans to pay back [...]

An article in the National Post suggests General Motors may look to divert some of its bailout money to Europe in the wake of a chill in German government support for subsidies. Talk of using taxpayer money to benefit workers in other countries is sure to raise ire, especially in the United States where the [...]

Finance and Economy

Wall Street Makes It Hard to Earn Legal Living: Alice Schroeder – Bloomberg.com
FT Alphaville – FDIC saves securitisation
BBC NEWS – Russian economy growing strongly
Henry Kaufman: The Real Threat to Fed Independence – WSJ.com
Origins of the Federal Reserve – Murray N. Rothbard – Mises Institute (controversial but interesting)
Richard Russell: Six reasons to [...]

You could see this one coming given the humiliating circumstances under which the German Chancellor learned that GM was pulling out of the Magna deal.
The BBC is now reporting that Germany will give General Motors no aid to restructure it’s business. That’s 4.5 Billion Euros they now need to come up with.
Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle [...]

I have been reading press accounts of the GM decision to back out of the Opel/Vauxhall sale to the Magna/Sberbank consortium from various countries. There are a lot of different perspectives on this event in the U.S., Belgium, Spain, Germany, Russia, the U.K and elsewhere, because a lot of players are involved.
The conclusion I [...]

The sale to Canadian auto parts maker Magna International and its partner, Russian lender Sberbank is off. With bankruptcy now behind it, General Motors now feels confident it can proceed with Opel under the GM umbrella.
From the GM press release:
Given an improving business environment for GM over the past few months, and the importance of [...]