> gmail.com> wrote

>> I didn't mean anything other than what I stated.

>
> GM, Ford `On the Verge of Bankruptcy,' Altman Says (Update2)
>
> By Greg Miles and Caroline Salas
>
> July 22 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., the two
> biggest U.S. automakers, have about a 46 percent chance of default within
> five years, according to Edward Altman, a finance professor at New York
> University's Stern School of Business.
>
> ``Both are in very serious shape and the markets reflect that,'' Altman, the
> creator of the Z-score mathematical formula that measures bankruptcy risk,
> said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. The model shows that these
> companies are ``on the verge of bankruptcy,'' he said.
>
> The Z-scores for GM and Ford give both a bond rating equivalent to a CCC
> ranking, though GM is in slightly worse condition than Ford, Altman said. GM
> reported a $38.7 billion loss in 2007, the biggest in its 100-year history,
> and hasn't posted a profit since 2004. The scores are based on the
> companies' finances at the end of the first quarter.
>
> Moody's Investors Service said July 15 it may cut GM's Caa1 senior unsecured
> debt rating because the Detroit-based automaker's plan to raise at least $15
> billion by suspending its dividend, cutting management payroll by 20 percent
> and selling assets may not be enough to offset losses. Standard & Poor's
> also said in June it may lower GM's B rating. Altman said the plan to raise
> $15 billion may improve GM's outlook.
>
> Ford, based in Dearborn, Michigan, is rated Caa1 by Moody's and B by S&P,
> which said in June that Ford's rating may also be cut.
>
>