Reuters Investigates
Insight and investigations from our expert reporters
How visible is the hand of Treasury in steering GM?
By Kevin Krolicki
“What we are not doing — what I have no interest in doing — is running GM.” — President Barack Obama, June 2009.
GM has undergone massive changes in the nearly year and a half since the Obama administration stepped in to save and restructure the company in bankruptcy to spare it from liquidation and to save hundreds of thousands of American jobs.
But how well has the White House done with its pledge to stay out of the management of GM after its $50 billion bailout?
A Reuters review of the record leading up to the GM initial public offering of stock expected later this month shows that the Treasury has called the shots on key aspects of the deal, including its speed, size, the fees paid to bankers and the involvement of sovereign wealth funds. You can read the special report here.
Dubai comeback already?
We went behind the scenes of Dubai’s debt debacle last November and found a much more sober city-state starting to rebuild itself from the $59 billion hole that was dug by the whizz kids who had powered its transformation. Loans don’t come as easy — particularly the nod and the wink of association with the royal family isn’t cutting it like it used to.
Some people see a connection between the crisis and the fact that Dubai has also started to tighten up on its trade with Iran, in line with broader international sanctions, but we’re not so sure about that.
