In a recent article in Fortune online the various bidders for Chrysler are all analyzed. The author's conclusion: no sale is the best alternative, but that is impossible given the positive reaction to Daimler's recent consent to selling the American arm of the company.

Here are some quotes from the article:
"Getting the immense returns that private equity requires means heaping billions of dollars of debt on Chrysler, stripping it of excess capacity, people and dealers, and then carving up the remains for sale to other buyers or the public.
...

In short, none of the above - Kerkorian, private equity or Magna - sound like the ideal buyer for Chrysler. As I have written before http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/26/news/companies/pluggedin_taylor_chrysler.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007032723, the smart play would be for Daimler to hang on to the American company, but that appears to be politically impossible. Sentiment in Germany is overwhelmingly in favor of letting it go and Daimler's share price has risen sharply ever since the prospect of a divestiture was floated.
The wild card remains Big Labor. Union representatives in Germany control half the votes on the supervisory board - the equivalent of an American board of directors - and could try to block any deal. Here in the United States, the United Auto Workers could also play the role of obstructionist by refusing to negotiate with a prospective buyer. It was the UAW after all that started this sale process in the first place by refusing to grant Chrysler the same break on medical costs that it gave General Motors http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=GM (Charts http://money.cnn.com/quote/chart/chart.html?symb=GM) and Ford http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=F (Charts http://money.cnn.com/quote/chart/chart.html?symb=F). It figured that since the German parent had deep pockets, there was no need to. Now that those pockets are about to be closed, the UAW could take out its anger on the new buyer."

Here is a link to the full article:

http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/11/news/companies/pluggedin_taylor_chryslerbuyer.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007041112

Mike

The U.S. Trustee assigned to the bankruptcy of New Century Financial Corporation filed court papers that said the corporation shouldn’t be allowed to sell mortgages worth $50 million. New Century is the largest subprime lender currently in bankruptcy.

“New Century should be forced to eliminate or reduce a $1 million breakup fee and announce how it will protect consumer financial data before approval, U.S. trustee attorney Joseph McMahon said in court papers filed today in Wilmington, Delaware bankruptcy court.

The breakup fee is nothing more than a ‘1 million windfall’ for Royal Bank, McMahon said in the filing. The fee would be paid by New Century to the bank if the sale isn’t completed. The U.S. trustee monitors bankruptcies on behalf of the U.S. Justice Department.”

The complete article can be found at:

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=acDKDs56wmxc

Pam

NBC recently ran a story on Mike’s cousins who live in Florida. They have four children, three of whom are serving in Iraq. The three brothers all graduated from West Point. Bill, Huber and younger brother Charlie serve in different battalions in the army striker brigades. Parents, Phyllis, a Delta flight attendant, and Huber Parsons, Jr., an attorney in Florida, are proud of their sons and wait for them to all come home safely. Please pray for their safety and that of the men they lead.

Here is the direct link to the Nightly News story:

http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?f=00&g=44694c11-56d5-43a3-975c-54e494dadb76&p=&t=m5&rf=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8004316/&fg

Michelle