Government Approves Nine NITs
The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Human Resource Development for setting up nine new National Institutes of Technology (NITs) at an estimated expenditure of Rs 2,600 crore, in which north-eastern states will get the lion’s share. The new institutes will come up in Manipur; Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Goa, Pudducherry Sikkim, Delhi and Uttarakhand. The process for setting up the new NITs would start in 2009-10 with formation of their respective societies, constitution of their Board of Governors and appointment of Directors.
Source: www.deccanherald.com
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Showing posts with label NEWS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NEWS. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
ASIA TOP UNIVERSITY
Six Indian Universities including the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD), Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), University of Delhi (DU) and Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR) have been ranked among top 100 Universities in Asia in a ranking done by the Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd., which is the world's leading information specialist in the higher education sector.
Top Asian universities have been evaluated in the first regional ranking from QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd (QS), the compilers of the Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings.
The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) has been ranked highest among Indian varsities at No. 30, followed by the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) placed closely at No. 34.
All other Indian varsities are ranked at No. 36, 49, 60 and 63 respectively.
"The results of the QS.com Asian University Rankings focus on regionally relevant measures of excellence, with the top performing universities distinguished not only by quality, but also by high productivity of research, compared to their regional peers," said Nunzio Quacquarelli, Managing Director QS.
Other Asian Universities that have been ranked among top 100 are University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong), University of Tokyo (Japan), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong), Kyoto University (Japan), Osaka University (Japan), KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (South Korea), Seoul National University (South Korea), Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan), National University of Singapore (NUS- Singapore), Peking University (China).
SOURCE :
http://indiaedunews.net/Today/Six%5FIndian%5Fvarsities%5Frank%5Famong%5Ftop%5F100%5FAsian%5FUniversities%5F8104/
INDIA LEADING EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION www.uniqueinstitutes.org
Top Asian universities have been evaluated in the first regional ranking from QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd (QS), the compilers of the Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings.
The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) has been ranked highest among Indian varsities at No. 30, followed by the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) placed closely at No. 34.
All other Indian varsities are ranked at No. 36, 49, 60 and 63 respectively.
"The results of the QS.com Asian University Rankings focus on regionally relevant measures of excellence, with the top performing universities distinguished not only by quality, but also by high productivity of research, compared to their regional peers," said Nunzio Quacquarelli, Managing Director QS.
Other Asian Universities that have been ranked among top 100 are University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong), University of Tokyo (Japan), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong), Kyoto University (Japan), Osaka University (Japan), KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (South Korea), Seoul National University (South Korea), Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan), National University of Singapore (NUS- Singapore), Peking University (China).
SOURCE :
http://indiaedunews.net/Today/Six%5FIndian%5Fvarsities%5Frank%5Famong%5Ftop%5F100%5FAsian%5FUniversities%5F8104/
INDIA LEADING EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION www.uniqueinstitutes.org
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
CBSE
The eighth regional office of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will be inaugurated by Arjun Singh, Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) in Bhubaneswar on February 12.
The Bhubaneswar centre will benefit at least 120,000 students of about 650 schools in three states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal.
"We have decided to establish the eight regional centre of the CBSE in Orissa for the benefit of schools of three eastern states affiliated to the board," said a CBSE official.
"The centre will initially function from a rented building. The centre will be shifted to a permanent building though the site is yet to be finalized", the official added.
"With its office here, the CBSE will be able to keep a close eye on the schools in these states and thus improving the standard of education in these states," he said.
"It is a great relief for all of us," said K.C. Satpathy, principal of D.A.V. Public School here, adding they had to travel all the way to the Allahabad centre even for "small works".
As the board examinations will be conducted by the Bhubaneswar centre, the school principal said, it would help them a lot to sort out technical difficulties and errors quickly.
In addition to the inauguration of the eight centre of CBSE, the foundation stone of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar will also be laid down by Arjun Singh on the same day.
Earlier this programme was scheduled to be held on February 11. The foundation stone of the IIT will be laid down at the construction site situated few kilometers south of Bhubaneswar at KANSAPADA (Khudupur-Taraboi Road) near Jatni Block Office, Khordha.
This new IIT at Bhubaneswar is part of the 8 new IITs that have been established in the country by the MHRD during the XI Plan. The IIT-Bhubaneswar has already commenced its academic activities from 2008-2009 session from the campus of IIT Kharagpur.
The 7 other new IITs have been set up in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujrat, Madhya Pradesh (Indore) and Himachal Pradesh. An allocation of Rs.2,000 crores has been provided in the XI Plan and Rs.50 crores has been allocated for 2008-09 for new IITs.
Orissa is also to get a new Central University under the Central Universities Ordinance, 2009 which was promulgated by the President of India on January 15, 2009.
The Central Government has laid great emphasis on the advancement of Higher Education during the XI Plan for which the outlays have been increased by 10 times when compared to the X Plan outlays.
This higher allocation is being used for the creation of 30 Central Universities including 14 new National (World Class) universities; 8 new IITs; 7 new IIMs; 5 new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs); 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs); 2 new Schools of Planning & Architecture; 10 new NITs, Central assistance for establishing 1000 new polytechnics, including through PPP mode, strengthening of 500 existing polytechnics, etc.www.uniqueinstitutes.org
The Bhubaneswar centre will benefit at least 120,000 students of about 650 schools in three states of Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal.
"We have decided to establish the eight regional centre of the CBSE in Orissa for the benefit of schools of three eastern states affiliated to the board," said a CBSE official.
"The centre will initially function from a rented building. The centre will be shifted to a permanent building though the site is yet to be finalized", the official added.
"With its office here, the CBSE will be able to keep a close eye on the schools in these states and thus improving the standard of education in these states," he said.
"It is a great relief for all of us," said K.C. Satpathy, principal of D.A.V. Public School here, adding they had to travel all the way to the Allahabad centre even for "small works".
As the board examinations will be conducted by the Bhubaneswar centre, the school principal said, it would help them a lot to sort out technical difficulties and errors quickly.
In addition to the inauguration of the eight centre of CBSE, the foundation stone of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar will also be laid down by Arjun Singh on the same day.
Earlier this programme was scheduled to be held on February 11. The foundation stone of the IIT will be laid down at the construction site situated few kilometers south of Bhubaneswar at KANSAPADA (Khudupur-Taraboi Road) near Jatni Block Office, Khordha.
This new IIT at Bhubaneswar is part of the 8 new IITs that have been established in the country by the MHRD during the XI Plan. The IIT-Bhubaneswar has already commenced its academic activities from 2008-2009 session from the campus of IIT Kharagpur.
The 7 other new IITs have been set up in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujrat, Madhya Pradesh (Indore) and Himachal Pradesh. An allocation of Rs.2,000 crores has been provided in the XI Plan and Rs.50 crores has been allocated for 2008-09 for new IITs.
Orissa is also to get a new Central University under the Central Universities Ordinance, 2009 which was promulgated by the President of India on January 15, 2009.
The Central Government has laid great emphasis on the advancement of Higher Education during the XI Plan for which the outlays have been increased by 10 times when compared to the X Plan outlays.
This higher allocation is being used for the creation of 30 Central Universities including 14 new National (World Class) universities; 8 new IITs; 7 new IIMs; 5 new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs); 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs); 2 new Schools of Planning & Architecture; 10 new NITs, Central assistance for establishing 1000 new polytechnics, including through PPP mode, strengthening of 500 existing polytechnics, etc.www.uniqueinstitutes.org
ragging
New Delhi: Terming ragging as "human rights abuse in essence", the Supreme Court Wednesday again directed all educational institutions to take stringent anti-ragging measures, including filing criminal cases against erring students.
A bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice Mukundakam Sharma ruled that the police would have to be "informed immediately and criminal law set into motion (against students ragging juniors)".
"If the authorities are prima facie satisfied about (the veracity of) the errant act of any student, they can in appropriate cases pending final decision, suspend the student from institution and hostel and give him an opportunity to have his say," said the bench, reiterating its earlier order of May 2007.
Rejecting lenient steps against student raggers, it said: "A question raised was regarding giving opportunity to the offender before taking stringent action like expulsion etc."
Brushing aside the question, the judges said: "Delay in taking action would frustrate the need for taking urgent action."
The court also ordered for a cut in financial aids to educational institutions found protecting students involved in ragging.
"If it comes to the notice of the university or the controlling authority that any educational institution is trying to shield an errant student, they shall be free to reduce the grant in aids and in serious cases deny grants in aids," the bench ruled.
It said the students would be apprised of the consequences of their acts of ragging their juniors at the time of admission, with the consequences detailed in the prospectus booklets.
In its ruling, the bench approved of almost all the recommendations made by the government-appointed committee, headed by former central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director R.K. Raghvan.
The committee had recommended that the failure on the part of the institutions in filing the first information report should be construed as negligence on their part, for which the government can consider stopping financial aid to it.
The bench earlier said that if a victim or his guardian was not satisfied with the action taken against ragging, a criminal case must be lodged with the police by the institution. www.uniqueinstitutes.org
A bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice Mukundakam Sharma ruled that the police would have to be "informed immediately and criminal law set into motion (against students ragging juniors)".
"If the authorities are prima facie satisfied about (the veracity of) the errant act of any student, they can in appropriate cases pending final decision, suspend the student from institution and hostel and give him an opportunity to have his say," said the bench, reiterating its earlier order of May 2007.
Rejecting lenient steps against student raggers, it said: "A question raised was regarding giving opportunity to the offender before taking stringent action like expulsion etc."
Brushing aside the question, the judges said: "Delay in taking action would frustrate the need for taking urgent action."
The court also ordered for a cut in financial aids to educational institutions found protecting students involved in ragging.
"If it comes to the notice of the university or the controlling authority that any educational institution is trying to shield an errant student, they shall be free to reduce the grant in aids and in serious cases deny grants in aids," the bench ruled.
It said the students would be apprised of the consequences of their acts of ragging their juniors at the time of admission, with the consequences detailed in the prospectus booklets.
In its ruling, the bench approved of almost all the recommendations made by the government-appointed committee, headed by former central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director R.K. Raghvan.
The committee had recommended that the failure on the part of the institutions in filing the first information report should be construed as negligence on their part, for which the government can consider stopping financial aid to it.
The bench earlier said that if a victim or his guardian was not satisfied with the action taken against ragging, a criminal case must be lodged with the police by the institution. www.uniqueinstitutes.org
IIT Bhubaneswar
Minister Arjun Singh laying the foundation stone Thursday.
The institute at Bhubaneswar is one among eight new IITs to be established in the country by the ministry of human resource during the Eleventh Plan period.
The IIT will come up at Aragul, 20 km from here, on 936 acres of land.
"The state government has already provided 516 acres of land free of cost," Deputy Secretary of Industry Department P.K. Panda told sources, adding that steps are being taken to provide rest of the land, water and electricity.
Parts of the campus, including class rooms, hostels and administrative buildings, expected to be ready in two years time, a faculty member of the IIT-Bhubaneswar said.
Around 120 students have already been admitted in three disciplines, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering in July last year.
"As the campus and building have not yet been built, the students are studying along with students of IIT Kharagpur," he said, adding that the student strength will increase to 240 in the next academy session (2009-2010).
IIT-Kharagpur has initiated measures to conduct classes in its Bhubaneswar centre from the next academic session.
"The centre will continue as the temporary campus of IIT-Bhubaneswar till its own campus comes up," Panda said. IANS
www.uniqueinstitutes.org
The institute at Bhubaneswar is one among eight new IITs to be established in the country by the ministry of human resource during the Eleventh Plan period.
The IIT will come up at Aragul, 20 km from here, on 936 acres of land.
"The state government has already provided 516 acres of land free of cost," Deputy Secretary of Industry Department P.K. Panda told sources, adding that steps are being taken to provide rest of the land, water and electricity.
Parts of the campus, including class rooms, hostels and administrative buildings, expected to be ready in two years time, a faculty member of the IIT-Bhubaneswar said.
Around 120 students have already been admitted in three disciplines, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering in July last year.
"As the campus and building have not yet been built, the students are studying along with students of IIT Kharagpur," he said, adding that the student strength will increase to 240 in the next academy session (2009-2010).
IIT-Kharagpur has initiated measures to conduct classes in its Bhubaneswar centre from the next academic session.
"The centre will continue as the temporary campus of IIT-Bhubaneswar till its own campus comes up," Panda said. IANS
www.uniqueinstitutes.org
Friday, December 19, 2008
katrina kaif
Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif is the most searched person online in India, while social networking site Orkut is the most searched keyword in the country, according to Google’s India Zeitgeist – a survey of online search terms.
“Different people find different things to do on the Web, so these lists are a good representation of the unique ways in which users mine the Internet,” said Vinay Goel, Head of Products, Google India.
for more indian news www.uniqueinstitutes.org
“Different people find different things to do on the Web, so these lists are a good representation of the unique ways in which users mine the Internet,” said Vinay Goel, Head of Products, Google India.
for more indian news www.uniqueinstitutes.org
GM, Chrysler in 102-Day Race to Keep Federal Loans
The clock is ticking for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. The automakers have 102 days to slash debt, renegotiate labor contracts and lay plans to cut thousands of jobs or face a government-mandated bankruptcy.
The Bush administration threw them a $13.4 billion lifeline from the U.S. bank-bailout program, with $4 billion more for GM in February provided Congress expands that fund. In exchange, the government gets warrants that will allow it to profit if the rescue succeeds and seniority over much of the companies’ debt if the effort fails.
Today’s move gives the U.S. wide authority to call the shots in the auto industry for the first time since the 1980s bailout of Chrysler Corp. and keeps GM and Chrysler alive long enough for a broader reorganization plan from the incoming Congress and President-elect Barack Obama.
“The restructuring they’re going to have to go through will be huge,” said Maryann Keller, an independent auto analyst and consultant in Greenwich, Connecticut. “This is money to tide them over. They’re going to come back for more money. That’s when the government is going to have to decide whether they’re viable businesses.”
The White House stepped in after a compromise plan backed by President George W. Bush and House Democrats failed to pass the Senate, thwarting Bush’s aim to avoid a “disorderly” bankruptcy that would have further weakened the U.S. economy.
Obama endorsed the plan, calling it a “necessary step” to “save this critical industry.”
March 31 Deadline
GM, the biggest U.S. automaker, and No. 3 Chrysler have until March 31 to meet the government terms or have the Treasury Department call the loans. Such a step would likely force the companies into bankruptcy, because they had said they were only weeks away from insolvency without an infusion of cash.
“Our focus now turns to rapidly and fully implementing our restructuring plan,” GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner said at a news conference in Detroit, the automaker’s hometown.
Ford Motor Co., the second-biggest U.S. automaker, has said it doesn’t need emergency aid.
GM and Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler must provide warrants for non-voting stock, limit executive pay, open up financial records, not issue dividends until the debt is repaid and give the government veto power over transactions larger than $100 million. They also have to agree not to use corporate jets.
Debt Terms, Czar
Government debt will become senior to other borrowing, to the extent allowed by law, and the automakers must cut their debt by two-thirds in an equity exchange.
Joel Kaplan, Bush’s deputy chief of staff, said the Treasury secretary would in effect be the so-called car czar, enforcing deadlines and holding authority to revoke the loans.
Bush also linked the assistance to changes in automakers’ union agreements, stipulating that half of the companies’ payments to a United Auto Workers retirement fund be made in equity.
A program that pays UAW members when they don’t work must be eliminated, and union labor costs and rules must be recrafted to be competitive with those of foreign automakers by Dec. 31.
The requirements could be modified by negotiations with the union and debtholders.
‘Kicked the Can’
“The president has come forward and did the minimum that he could do in order not to get nailed with the failure of the auto companies,” said Gerald Meyers, a professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a former CEO of American Motors Corp. “Bush has kicked the can, so to speak.”
GM rose 83 cents, or 23 percent, to $4.49 at 4:03 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, while Ford slid 11 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $2.95. The companies’ shares have tumbled 82 percent and 56 percent this year, respectively.
GM will get $4 billion by Dec. 29, $5.4 billion by Jan. 16 and the final $4 billion by Feb. 17, provided Congress agrees to release the second $350 billion of the funds allocated for the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. Chrysler would get $4 billion by Dec. 29.
U.S. auto sales that slumped last month to the lowest annual rate in 26 years pushed GM and Chrysler to the brink of failure.
Reeling from almost $73 billion in losses since 2004, GM reported $16.2 billion in cash as of Sept. 30, and needs $11 billion to pay monthly bills. Its 2008 U.S. sales declined 22 percent through November.
Cerberus Capital Management LP’s Chrysler has been battered by a 28 percent plunge in U.S. sales, the most among major automakers. It finished the third quarter with $6.1 billion in cash and needs at least $3 billion to operate, Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli told Congress on Nov. 18.
GM’s Challenges
For GM, the two biggest challenges will be working out the debt-for-equity swap with debtholders and completing agreements with unions, Wagoner said at the briefing. GM halted its dividend in July.
UAW leaders agreed Dec. 3 to suspend the program that pays laid-off employees after their jobs end, and to postpone automakers’ contributions to the new union-run trusts that will take on responsibility for retirees’ medical care.
Some of the union conditions match those developed last week by Republican Tennessee Senator Bob Corker in a failed attempt to win support of Senate Republicans for a $34 billion congressional bailout.
“While we appreciate that President Bush has taken the emergency action needed to help America’s auto companies weather the current financial crisis, we are disappointed that he has added unfair conditions singling out workers,” UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said in a statement.
Working With Debtholders
GM will need to persuade debtholders such as Franklin Resources Inc. and Pimco Advisors LP to accept two-thirds less than the face value of their bonds as part of a plan to cut about $62 billion in debt, including future obligations to the health-care fund.
Excluding the retiree-fund obligations, GM’s debt was $43.3 billion at the end of September.
“Negotiations will be very complex and unprecedented,” Kip Penniman, an analyst at KDP Investment Advisors Inc. in Montpelier, Vermont, wrote in a report today. “Bondholders with short-maturity notes will likely argue that their recoveries should be greater than long-dated notes. Secured creditors will be wary of taking any haircut.”
Chrysler debtholders, suppliers and dealers all will need to show “continued support” to help create a viable business plan by March, Nardelli told employees in an e-mail.
Cerberus’s View
Cerberus, the New York-based buyout firm that bought 80.1 percent of Chrysler from Daimler AG for $7.4 billion last year, said it would hand over equity in Chrysler’s automotive operations to employees and creditors under the rescue plan.
Fitch Ratings cut both GM and Chrysler debt to C, the last grade above default, from CCC, on concern the automakers don’t have enough equity to meet the federal requirements or the debt exchange, and may still have to seek court protection.
“The threat of a bankruptcy remains,” Fitch said.
GM’s 8.375 percent bonds due in July 2033 rose 3 cents to 18.5 cents on the dollar, yielding 45.2 percent, according to Trace, the bond-pricing service of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Ford’s 7.45 percent bonds due in July 2031 gained 0.5 cent to 25.5 cents on the dollar, yielding 29.4 percent, Trace data showed. for more details www.bloomberg.com www.uniqueinstitutes.org for india news
The Bush administration threw them a $13.4 billion lifeline from the U.S. bank-bailout program, with $4 billion more for GM in February provided Congress expands that fund. In exchange, the government gets warrants that will allow it to profit if the rescue succeeds and seniority over much of the companies’ debt if the effort fails.
Today’s move gives the U.S. wide authority to call the shots in the auto industry for the first time since the 1980s bailout of Chrysler Corp. and keeps GM and Chrysler alive long enough for a broader reorganization plan from the incoming Congress and President-elect Barack Obama.
“The restructuring they’re going to have to go through will be huge,” said Maryann Keller, an independent auto analyst and consultant in Greenwich, Connecticut. “This is money to tide them over. They’re going to come back for more money. That’s when the government is going to have to decide whether they’re viable businesses.”
The White House stepped in after a compromise plan backed by President George W. Bush and House Democrats failed to pass the Senate, thwarting Bush’s aim to avoid a “disorderly” bankruptcy that would have further weakened the U.S. economy.
Obama endorsed the plan, calling it a “necessary step” to “save this critical industry.”
March 31 Deadline
GM, the biggest U.S. automaker, and No. 3 Chrysler have until March 31 to meet the government terms or have the Treasury Department call the loans. Such a step would likely force the companies into bankruptcy, because they had said they were only weeks away from insolvency without an infusion of cash.
“Our focus now turns to rapidly and fully implementing our restructuring plan,” GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner said at a news conference in Detroit, the automaker’s hometown.
Ford Motor Co., the second-biggest U.S. automaker, has said it doesn’t need emergency aid.
GM and Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler must provide warrants for non-voting stock, limit executive pay, open up financial records, not issue dividends until the debt is repaid and give the government veto power over transactions larger than $100 million. They also have to agree not to use corporate jets.
Debt Terms, Czar
Government debt will become senior to other borrowing, to the extent allowed by law, and the automakers must cut their debt by two-thirds in an equity exchange.
Joel Kaplan, Bush’s deputy chief of staff, said the Treasury secretary would in effect be the so-called car czar, enforcing deadlines and holding authority to revoke the loans.
Bush also linked the assistance to changes in automakers’ union agreements, stipulating that half of the companies’ payments to a United Auto Workers retirement fund be made in equity.
A program that pays UAW members when they don’t work must be eliminated, and union labor costs and rules must be recrafted to be competitive with those of foreign automakers by Dec. 31.
The requirements could be modified by negotiations with the union and debtholders.
‘Kicked the Can’
“The president has come forward and did the minimum that he could do in order not to get nailed with the failure of the auto companies,” said Gerald Meyers, a professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a former CEO of American Motors Corp. “Bush has kicked the can, so to speak.”
GM rose 83 cents, or 23 percent, to $4.49 at 4:03 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, while Ford slid 11 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $2.95. The companies’ shares have tumbled 82 percent and 56 percent this year, respectively.
GM will get $4 billion by Dec. 29, $5.4 billion by Jan. 16 and the final $4 billion by Feb. 17, provided Congress agrees to release the second $350 billion of the funds allocated for the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. Chrysler would get $4 billion by Dec. 29.
U.S. auto sales that slumped last month to the lowest annual rate in 26 years pushed GM and Chrysler to the brink of failure.
Reeling from almost $73 billion in losses since 2004, GM reported $16.2 billion in cash as of Sept. 30, and needs $11 billion to pay monthly bills. Its 2008 U.S. sales declined 22 percent through November.
Cerberus Capital Management LP’s Chrysler has been battered by a 28 percent plunge in U.S. sales, the most among major automakers. It finished the third quarter with $6.1 billion in cash and needs at least $3 billion to operate, Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli told Congress on Nov. 18.
GM’s Challenges
For GM, the two biggest challenges will be working out the debt-for-equity swap with debtholders and completing agreements with unions, Wagoner said at the briefing. GM halted its dividend in July.
UAW leaders agreed Dec. 3 to suspend the program that pays laid-off employees after their jobs end, and to postpone automakers’ contributions to the new union-run trusts that will take on responsibility for retirees’ medical care.
Some of the union conditions match those developed last week by Republican Tennessee Senator Bob Corker in a failed attempt to win support of Senate Republicans for a $34 billion congressional bailout.
“While we appreciate that President Bush has taken the emergency action needed to help America’s auto companies weather the current financial crisis, we are disappointed that he has added unfair conditions singling out workers,” UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said in a statement.
Working With Debtholders
GM will need to persuade debtholders such as Franklin Resources Inc. and Pimco Advisors LP to accept two-thirds less than the face value of their bonds as part of a plan to cut about $62 billion in debt, including future obligations to the health-care fund.
Excluding the retiree-fund obligations, GM’s debt was $43.3 billion at the end of September.
“Negotiations will be very complex and unprecedented,” Kip Penniman, an analyst at KDP Investment Advisors Inc. in Montpelier, Vermont, wrote in a report today. “Bondholders with short-maturity notes will likely argue that their recoveries should be greater than long-dated notes. Secured creditors will be wary of taking any haircut.”
Chrysler debtholders, suppliers and dealers all will need to show “continued support” to help create a viable business plan by March, Nardelli told employees in an e-mail.
Cerberus’s View
Cerberus, the New York-based buyout firm that bought 80.1 percent of Chrysler from Daimler AG for $7.4 billion last year, said it would hand over equity in Chrysler’s automotive operations to employees and creditors under the rescue plan.
Fitch Ratings cut both GM and Chrysler debt to C, the last grade above default, from CCC, on concern the automakers don’t have enough equity to meet the federal requirements or the debt exchange, and may still have to seek court protection.
“The threat of a bankruptcy remains,” Fitch said.
GM’s 8.375 percent bonds due in July 2033 rose 3 cents to 18.5 cents on the dollar, yielding 45.2 percent, according to Trace, the bond-pricing service of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Ford’s 7.45 percent bonds due in July 2031 gained 0.5 cent to 25.5 cents on the dollar, yielding 29.4 percent, Trace data showed. for more details www.bloomberg.com www.uniqueinstitutes.org for india news
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