wiegie Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Just got a call from my university news service saying that we should expect media phone-calls concerning Chrysler going bankrupt to start coming at any moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeteebee Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Not meaning to belittle GVSU, but why would you guys field calls? Is it that since you are geographically close to Chrysler that you may have "inside" knowledge or that your econ department is more respected that U of M or MSU? I would think that, all else being equal, a news service would have more cache quoting an economist from Mich or MSU than GVSU. I am probably underestimating the rep that GVSU has in the economics world but I often wonder why certain people are quoted in articles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 (edited) Could be from this article from the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124109550079373043.html APRIL 30, 2009, 9:41 A.M. ET Funds Won't Impede Chrysler Reorganization Administration Official Says Chrysler Will Enter Chapter 11; Obama to Speak at Noon Article By NEIL KING JR. and JEFFREY MCCRACKEN WASHINGTON – The restructuring of Chrysler LLC will go forward even though a handful of hedge funds have refused to accept the Treasury Department's offer to cut the auto maker's debt, an administration official said on Thursday. "Their failure to act in either their own economic interest or the national interest does not diminish the accomplishments" by Chrysler, its planned alliance partner Fiat SpA and other stakeholders in the company, the official said, "nor will it impede the new opportunity Chrysler now has to restructure and emerge stronger going forward." The administration's auto task force tried to get all 46 of Chrysler's secured lenders to agree to a debt-reduction deal until talks broke down late Wednesday. President Barack Obama is expected to address the issue at a news conference at noon Thursday, and could announce that Chrysler is now going to seek reorganization in bankruptcy court. Administration officials said Thursday morning that Chrysler will file for bankruptcy as talks with creditors have failed. "After a month of tireless negotiations, the administration went into yesterday afternoon with the full support of Chrysler's key stakeholders, including the UAW and the largest creditors," the administration official said. "That support remains." Some of the largest banks agreed to take $2 billion in cash in exchange for giving up $6.9 billion in secured debt. On Wednesday that auto task force increased the offer to $2.25 billion, but a few of the creditors rejected that. "While the administration was willing to give the holdout creditors a final opportunity to do the right thing, the agreement of all other key stakeholders ensured that no hedge fund could have a veto over Chrysler's future success," the official said. More Autos News A Chrysler Creditor Finds Himself TornGM Bondholders Seek to Control EquityChrysler Workers Push for OwnershipGM Salaried Workers to See Pay CutMean Street: Mr. Bloom's Magnificent DealAdministration officials, who have been braced for a Chrysler bankruptcy filing for weeks, say all the pieces are in place to get the company through the court quickly, perhaps in a matter of weeks. On Wednesday, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which leads the creditor group as Chrysler's largest lender, gave the other 45 banks and hedge funds 90 minutes to vote on the deal. A large number of the funds voted no and refused to budge, paving the way for an all but unavoidable trip to bankruptcy court, said people close to the talks. Chrysler's likely trip to bankruptcy court is a watershed moment for the car maker that popularized the minivan, is the home of the Jeep and managed to rebound from an earlier financial crisis in the late 1970s. But Chrysler's fortunes have faded since its breakup with Daimler AG two years ago. A trip through the courts will open a new chapter of uncertainty as the company's lenders and its thousands of affiliated dealers could mount a series of legal challenges to the administration's efforts to pull off a swift reorganization. If the Obama administration's calculations are correct, the process should pave the way for Italian auto maker Fiat to take over the American company. Bank holdouts may get blamed for pushing Chrysler into court. But there are other reasons behind the move. One reason Chrysler needs to file for bankruptcy protection is so that Fiat can clear out hundreds of auto dealers from its sales network, which is easier to do in bankruptcy, where dealer franchisee agreements can quickly be rejected or amended. The auto maker also has asbestos and environmental liabilities that Fiat doesn't want and are more easily shed in bankruptcy court. The administration worked to the wire to seal a deal outside of court that would put Chrysler in an alliance with Fiat and forge an arrangement between the car company and the United Auto Workers union. Chrysler's UAW membership passed a related negotiated deal with the car company late Wednesday. Fiat is expected to signal its approval for an alliance with Chrysler on Thursday. Administration officials said they remained confident Chrysler could shed much of its debt and come out of a court-supervised restructuring as a stronger company. They ruled out the possibility that Chrysler could end up being liquidated and sold off in pieces. Despite shrinking radically in recent years, Chrysler still employs about 54,000 people in the country with assembly and parts plants all over Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he is "very hopeful" of a resolution that maintains Chrysler as a viable company. "I think some tough choices are being made" by Chrysler's lenders and workers, Mr. Obama said in response to questions at a prime-time news conference. If Chrysler were to file, "it would be a very quick type of bankruptcy," Mr. Obama added. Treasury officials remain concerned that a Chapter 11 filing could lead to a loss of control of the car maker's future. Some Chrysler creditors could argue in court that the company is worth more to them in liquidation than they are granted in the Treasury's deal, which offers the creditors about 29 cents on the dollar in cash. Some of the creditors have signaled they are prepared to fight the matter in court. The administration last month gave Chrysler until May 1 to seal an alliance with Fiat, negotiate a new cost-cutting arrangement with the UAW and pare its debt. Assuming a brisk passage through court, the administration has worked out a deal that will grant the UAW's retiree-health-care fund a 55% stake in the car company, while Fiat will eventually gain a 35% stake. The rest will be in the hands of the federal government. Chrysler has about 115,000 retirees. As part of the UAW deal, the union agreed to eliminate a number of benefits. Bank-debt holders, many of them hedge funds or distressed debt funds, voted against the latest deal for various reasons, ranging from financial interests to philosophical ones. Some said their funds had bigger positions in Ford Motor Co. or General Motors Corp. and could benefit by a Chrysler bankruptcy and the production capacity that may eliminate. Some funds may also have credit-default swaps on Chrysler bank debt that pay out in the event of a bankruptcy. Three of the bank-debt holders on the bank-steering committee, Oppenheimer Funds, Perella Weinberg Partners' Xerion Capital Fund and Stairway Cap Management, told J.P. Morgan and the other large lenders on a bank call Tuesday that they wouldn't support the deal and would advise other lenders not to support it. It is unclear whether the later counteroffer changed their Edited April 30, 2009 by Big John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmarc117 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 its no rumor, they is toast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiegie Posted April 30, 2009 Author Share Posted April 30, 2009 why would you guys field calls? we mostly field calls from local media outlets (like local newspapers and the five local television stations we have around here). I'm sure that the media outlets in other parts of the state hit up their local universities too. Occasionally, and for reasons that still baffle me, we will get hit up by the national media for some reason (I've been interviewed by Reuters and one of my colleagues has been on NPR). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 The gayest I've ever felt riding in a car was about 15 years ago when a guy we worked with offered to drive for lunch. He had the top down in his Chrysler LeBaron convertible. I prayed a tractor-trailer didn't run us down because if I died riding in this thing, I'd be very mad if the story said I was one of 4 guys that died while riding in a Chrysler LeBaron convertible. I fired him the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeteebee Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 The gayest I've ever felt riding in a car was about 15 years ago when a guy we worked with offered to drive for lunch. He had the top down in his Chrysler LeBaron convertible. I prayed a tractor-trailer didn't run us down because if I died riding in this thing, I'd be very mad if the story said I was one of 4 guys that died while riding in a Chrysler LeBaron convertible. I fired him the next day. Maybe the fact that your head was in his lap as he softly caressed the back of your Members Only jacket while Maneater played on the stereo contributed to this feeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Maybe the fact that your head was in his lap as he softly caressed the back of your Members Only jacket while Maneater played on the stereo contributed to this feeling. You swore you'd never tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 WASHINGTON – The restructuring of Chrysler LLC will go forward even though a handful of hedge funds have refused to accept the Treasury Department's offer to cut the auto maker's debt, an administration official said on Thursday. That figures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmarc117 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 WASHINGTON – The restructuring of Chrysler LLC will go forward even though a handful of hedge funds have refused to accept the Treasury Department's offer to cut the auto maker's debt, an administration official said on Thursday. That figures. yep, crazy that somebody would want to get their money back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 (edited) I still remember the top down and the wind blowing on the back of my neck even though GTB and I were parked and there wasn't a breeze in the air. Edited April 30, 2009 by TimC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 In the deal envisioned out of court, Fiat would become a 20 percent owner of Chrysler, and a union retiree health-care trust fund would hold 55 percent, with the rest of the company staying in the government’s hands initially, the people said. Link It appears as though creditors will get 33 cents on the dollar they are owed, and that government will own 25%, and that Obama is paying back the auto unions to the tune of a 55% stake in the company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeteebee Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I still remember the top down and the wind blowing on the back of my neck even though GTB and I were parked and there wasn't a breeze in the air. Oh, the days before my deviated septum. Good times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Maybe the fact that your head was in his lap as he softly caressed the back of your Members Only jacket while Maneater played on the stereo contributed to this feeling. Holy chit I just coughed coffee all over my desk after reading this. LOLOLOLOLOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Occasionally, and for reasons that still baffle me, we will get hit up by the national media for some reason (I've been interviewed by Reuters and one of my colleagues has been on NPR). It must be a good school. Why else would anyone go to Grand Rapids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJoTheWebToedBoy Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 (edited) F@ck'em. Let them burn..... Piece of sh!t cars. Worse freakin car I have ever owned. Even after all these years, if I ever run into Lee Iacocca, it's his ass... And when he dies, I'm taking a special trip to the grave just to piss on it. motherF@cker!!! Edited April 30, 2009 by JoJoTheWebToedBoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 fact Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylive5 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 F@ck'em. Let them burn..... Piece of sh!t cars. Worse freakin car I have ever owned. Even after all these years, if I ever run into Lee Iacocca, it's his ass... And when he dies, I'm taking a special trip to the grave just to piss on it. motherF@cker!!! I keep telling you to stop holding back and tell us how you really feel.... but NO you insist on sugar coating everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 So it was a bankruptcy by fiat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 My mom had a Plymouth back in the 80s. That car went from brand new to out of commission in less than 2 years, to be replaced by a Chrysler wagon which lasted slightly longer. Those two cars pretty much sealed my opinion of American cars... although my friend's series of crappy Cavaliers didn't help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H8tank Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 My mom had a Plymouth back in the 80s. That car went from brand new to out of commission in less than 2 years, to be replaced by a Chrysler wagon which lasted slightly longer. Women don't know they are supposed to change the oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 Women don't know they are supposed to change the oil. Funny that her Volkswagens and Hondas didn't need oil then. Must be an American thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driveby Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 sounds like an awesome plan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchoutofwater Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 sounds like an awesome plan Obama stepped in and tried to save his campaign donors at the UAW. That is all this is. Chrysler should have been aloud to die a natural death and then come back, but we couldn't have that many UAW guys having no leverage for new contracts with the reorganized company that would have emerged had the government done nothing. Hey but the investors got 29 cents on the dollar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 'I'm saying that when the president does it that means it's not illegal" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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