....the largest annual loss ever for a U.S. automaker.

Discuss....

 

I'm just shootin' from the hip here, but that sounds like some "creative accounting" to me.

 

We had already discussed this after the 3rd quarter results came in.
With the noncash charge of $38.3 billion that the company took in the third quarter to write down deferred tax assets, meaning that G.M. almost broke even otherwise after losing $2 billion in 2006.

 

Correct.

Not really a $39 billion dollar "loss"...

 

The news does love a story though so I expect this to air constantly over the next few days.

 

Thats about as misleading as it gets

 

Anyone catch this? http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/12/news...ex.htm?cnn=yes

EDIT: Whoops, already a thread on this.

 

The media are such idiots, they have no clue what they are talking about. Take the monthly inflation report issued by the govt. Like last November, the reporter will say "The government annouced that inflation grew at 4.3% last month". Completely incorrect. Yet I hear it every month, the correct way to say it is "Inflation grew at the annual rate of 4.3% last month". Big Difference!

And then some of the info is just so untimely. Like Bloomberg gas price reports. They take a survey on a tueday and issue the results the following monday. "The average price of gas is 2.79 a gallon in the Metro St. Louis area". Gee well that was a week ago, average price today is $2.99. You would think that the reporter or teleprompter guy just filled up for 3.09 a gallon and knows the info is still wrong but spews it out there anyway. The U.S. media lowers all of our I.Q.s

OK I'm off the soapbox.

I think GM is in the right direction, I would love to see market share increase so they can stay #1, but profitablity is more important, so should we expect a break even year or profit in 2008 since 2007 seems break even?

I am starting to wonder what Post Lutz will be like? Anyone else worry?

 

If only they could lose one more billion and send it my way. Even a million would suffice.