General Motors
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Is Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) the New GM?
As far as prestigious SUVs go, the Land Rover badge has been a mainstay in the road-less hinterlands for decades.
Yet it has taken years for someone to actually get the formula right. BMW tried. Then Ford.
But neither one of them could quite get it.
Oddly enough the company to finally pull it off is headquartered in the former British colony of India.
With its Range Rover Evoque, Tata Motors took the top prize as the Motor Trend SUV of the Year for 2012.
According to Motor Trend, "the Evoque hits all of the marks."
So what exactly is Tata Motors? It may not be as familiar to you as General Motors (NYSE: GM), but someday it will be.
A fast growing newcomer, Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) is becoming a global force in the auto, defense and commercial vehicle sectors.
Now it certainly doesn't hurt that the local India market has a population approaching 1 billion people and that as these folks continue to move up the economic ladder they will be able to buy cars in greater quantities.
That's a bonus for certain. But it's not the entire story.
The truth is Tata is a leading builder of mass transportation vehicles (busses) in India as well as Spain, Brazil and South Korea.
Simply put, Tata is now a significant global player.
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Can General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) Shake Off Trouble from Europe?
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) reported today (Thursday) its biggest annual profit ever for 2011, but weakness from Europe could dull the share-price rally.
Net income for the 2011 fiscal year hit $7.6 billion, 62% higher than the $4.7 billion GM earned a year ago and more than the previous record of $6.7 billion in 1997. Revenue increased 11% to $150.3 billion.
Net income for the quarter hit $472 million, or 28 cents a share, down from $510 million, or 31 cents a share, a year ago.
North America was GM's biggest income driver, accounting for $7.2 billion of the year's profit. GM suffered a $747 million loss in Europe, where consumer spending is struggling.
"We clearly have work to do in Europe," GM Chief Financial Officer Dan Ammann told reporters. "We have work to do in the South America business. Frankly, we have work to do all around the company in terms of cost opportunity."
Investors remain wary over how successful GM will be at maintaining its profit rise as long as Europe remains weak - and looks increasingly weaker.
"Just because things were looking OK at the end of last year doesn't mean that they will continue to look OK," Richard Cookson, chief investment officer of Citi Private Bank, told MSNBC. "Our best guess is that conditions will continue to deteriorate. This is going to be unpleasant, to put it mildly."
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General Motors: Sales and Stock-Price Disconnect
Iconic automaker General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) reported an April sales jump of 26%, putting it on track to surpass Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE ADR: TM) as the world's number one automaker in 2011. But even with this recent sales boost, GM's shares are about the same value as they were in November. Why hasn't [...]
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Hot Stocks: General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) Marks Turnaround With First Full Year of Profits Since 2004
After suffering through years of enormous losses and one of the biggest bankruptcies in U.S. history, General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) yesterday (Thursday) posted its first annual profit since 2004.
The Detroit automaker said it earned $4.7 billion in 2010, compared with a $21 billion loss posted by the current GM and its pre-bankruptcy predecessor in 2009.
"Last year was one of foundation building," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson said in a statement. "Particularly pleasing was that we demonstrated GM's ability to achieve sustainable profitability near the bottom of the U.S. industry cycle, with four consecutive profitable quarters."
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Automaker's Shares Jump in Early Trading as Investors Buy GM Stock Following Record IPO
Shares of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) zoomed nearly 7% in morning trading today (Thursday), following a $20.1 billion initial public offering (IPO) that moves the U.S. carmaker closer to paying back the taxpayer funds it received in a bailout last year. GM shares were up $2.25 each, or 6.82%, to trade at $35.25 at [...]
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Buy, Sell or Hold Special Report: How Retail Investors Should Play the GM IPO
If you are one of the millions of retail investors who found themselves totally out of luck on the General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) initial public stock offering, don't fret.
Although the GM IPO is over, the profit opportunity has just begun.
The incredibly oversubscribed GM IPO may well have been the biggest stock offering in global history. But I believe that this stock has plenty of room to run.
In fact, I believe this is a stock that you'll want to buy in the aftermarket - provided that you follow some very strict guidelines for share prices and timing.
Let me explain...
To hear the best strategy for buying GM shares in the aftermarket, please read on... -
GM Whets Investors' Appetite for IPO With $2 Billion Third Quarter Profit
General Motors Co. reported a profit for the third straight quarter yesterday (Wednesday) and said it is on a path this year to produce its first annual profit since 2004, gathering critical momentum for its planned initial public offering (IPO) next week.
The world's largest automaker said profits rose to $2.16 billion in the third quarter and revenue rose 20% to $34.1 billion. The company reported earnings per share of $1.20, compared to a loss of 73 cents a share in July through September last year, after it exited bankruptcy reorganization.
"It's a very strong quarter financially," Dennis Virag, president of Automotive Consulting Group in Ann Arbor, Michigan, told Bloomberg News in a telephone interview. "They've taken the excess capacity out of the system and cut costs throughout the organization. Any gain in the overall market is going to be very positive for General Motors, and the market has turned around from 2009."
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GM's $10.6 Billion IPO Could be an Enticing Opportunity For Investors
General Motors in an initial public offering (IPO) this month will price its shares at a level that could regenerate investor interest, and even throw off generous returns over time.
At least that's the hope of the U.S. government, which is likely to see its taxpayer-owned stake fall to less than the symbolically important 50% level when it sells approximately $7 billion of its shares in the IPO.
GM, 61% owned by the U.S. Treasury Department, will offer 365 million shares at $26 to $29 each, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. The automaker also will offer $2 billion to $3 billion of preferred shares that later will become common stock, the people said.
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Toyota Racks Up Recalls as Automakers Adopt More Proactive Safety Stance
Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE ADR: TM) added another set of recalls yesterday (Thursday) to its rocky year.
Toyota announced it needed to repair 1.66 million autos worldwide for brake-fluid leak issues. The newest development brings the total number of Toyota vehicles recalled worldwide in the past year to about 14 million.
The company said it needed to fix rubber seals on about 740,000 vehicles in the United States and 599,000 in Japan, as well as some models in European markets, including Avalon and Lexus sedans and Highlander sport-utility vehicles. A small amount of brake fluid was able to leak from the master cylinder and gradually reduce braking performance and cause a "spongy" feeling in the brakes, according to a company spokesman. Cars affected have had factory-filled brake fluid replaced with brake fluid that is not "genuine" factory fluid.
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China Using Government Muscle to Turbo Charge its Auto Industry
Having already supplanted the United States as the world's largest auto market, China is on the fast track to becoming the global leader in hybrid and electric cars.
General Motors and Chrysler were forced into bankruptcy largely because they failed to pursue more fuel-efficient models. Indeed, GM and Chrysler looked wholly unprepared as gas prices soared over $4.00 a gallon in 2008.
As GM emerges from bankruptcy - having been bailed out by the U.S. government - it will put a renewed focus on alternative energy. Unfortunately, it's too late to make a difference. As U.S. car companies sputtered amid the country's economic collapse, carmakers in China raced ahead. And with billions of dollars in government backing, they are the companies that will set the pace for the global auto market.
