DETROIT (Reuters) – Detroit defaulted on some debt on Friday and proposed most creditors receive just pennies on the dollar owed by the “insolvent” city in order to avoid the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

In a forceful opening salvo of negotiations with holders of as much as $18.5 billion of debt, Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr announced a moratorium on some principal and interest payments, including one due on Friday.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Emergency manager Kevyn Orr said Detroit will stop making payments on some debt, including one scheduled on Friday, and proposed debt holders take a drastic cut in the money they are owed to stave off the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

In a meeting with creditors, Orr for the first time presented a detailed proposal calling on the holders of nearly $17 billion in Detroit debt to make substantial concessions.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Chrysler Group LLC, in a rare move, is resisting a push by U.S. regulators to recall 2.7 million older model Jeep vehicles, saying on Tuesday that the request is based on an “incomplete analysis of the underlying data.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asked for the recall Monday night after an investigation of the vehicles’ fuel tanks. Chrysler has been working with NHTSA on this issue for nearly three years.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Chrysler Group LLC disputed a decision by U.S. regulators to recall 2.7 million older model Jeep vehicles for safety problems, saying in a statement on Tuesday that the conclusion is based on an “incomplete analysis of the underlying data.”

Chrysler, which is majority-owned by Fiat, said it does not intend to recall the SUVs and insisted that they are safe.

DETROIT (Reuters) – U.S. auto sales rose more than expected in May as construction workers and oil drillers bought more pickup trucks to meet growing demand for their services, a trend that major automakers expect to persist throughout the year.

Car and truck sales rose 8 percent during the month, according to Autodata Corp. The annual sales rate was 15.3 million vehicles, beating the 15.1 million rate expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters through last week.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Chrysler Group LLC reported an 11 percent rise in May auto sales on Monday, easily beating analysts’ expectations, on strong demand for pickup trucks.

Chrysler is the first automaker in the U.S. market to report May sales. Major manufacturers will report them through Monday afternoon.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Bond restructurings, negotiated settlements with bondholders and bond insurers, and tough talk with unionized workers are on the agenda as Detroit’s emergency financial manager tries to meet a self-imposed, six-week deadline to decide whether the city can get through its financial crisis without a bankruptcy filing.

Kevyn Orr, a former bankruptcy lawyer, in his first report to the state of Michigan since Governor Rick Snyder appointed him, laid out last week a bracing picture of steps he may need to take to address the city’s troubles.

DETROIT, May 14 (Reuters) – The attorney for a Saudi Arabian
man arrested at the Detroit airport over the weekend carrying a
pressure cooker in his luggage said his client is the victim of
a misunderstanding by overzealous U.S. customs agents.

Hussain Al Khawahir, 33, was detained after arriving in
Detroit on a flight from Amsterdam.

DETROIT (Reuters) – A Saudi Arabian man was arrested in Detroit and charged with making a false statement about why he brought a pressure cooker with him on a flight from Amsterdam, according to a criminal complaint filed on Monday.

Hussain al-Khawahir, 33, arrived at the Detroit airport on Saturday and was questioned about why he had brought a pressure cooker with him. The man’s name was spelled al-Khawahir in the criminal complaint, while a spokeswoman at the U.S. attorney’s office had earlier said it was al-Kwawahir.

DETROIT (Reuters) – A meeting of U.S. Fiat dealers to discuss future products, including the arrival of Alfa Romeo models, has twice been postponed and no new date has been set, several Fiat dealers said this week.

Some of the 204 U.S. Fiat dealers are struggling to turn a profit selling several versions of the Fiat 500 subcompact and some dealers said they anxiously await more details from Chrysler and its Italian parent, Fiat SpA (FIA.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), on plans to expand products beyond what has been already announced.