General Motors, Bailouts | featured news

The U.S. government's short stint in the auto business is coming to an end. The Treasury Department said Wednesday that it will sell its remaining stake in General Motors by early 2014, writing the final chapter of a $50 billion bailout that saved the auto giant but stoked a heated national debate about the government's role in private industry.

When General Motors announced in 2008 that it would shut down its assembly plant in Janesville, Wisconsin, local Representative Paul Ryan leaped into action.

General Motors earned its largest profit ever in 2011, two years after it nearly collapsed. Strong sales in the U.S. and China helped the carmaker turn a profit of $7.6 billion, beating its old record of $6.7 billion in 1997 during the pickup and SUV boom.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney defended himself Thursday against questions over why he opposed a federal bailout of General Motors and Chrysler two years ago.

Taxpayers won't foot the bill for raises for the chief executives at any of the four firms—GM, Chrysler, AIG, Ally Financial—still receiving assistance under the federal bank bailout.

General Motors Co has withdrawn its application for $14 billion in subsidized loans from the U.S. Department of Energy, saying it has the financial strength to fund investment in more fuel-efficient and electric vehicles.

General Motors will shrink the government’s ownership stake to less than 50 percent in a $10.6 billion initial public offering, people briefed on the matter said.

How long it takes for the government to divest its holdings in General Motors will, in part, be determined by the company’s success, G.M.’s chief executive said.

General Motors Co. rode expense cuts from its bankruptcy and strong sales of redesigned models to its first quarterly net income in nearly three years, drawing the company closer to a stock offering that would repay at least part of its government aid....

Automaker will repay $6.7B in taxpayer-funded loans by end of June, new chief executive says.