G.M. Reaches Tentative Deal

General Motor's bondholders may be prevaricating, but company won its creditors' support for a new bankruptcy plan on Thursday. The Wall Street Journal reports that the auto titan's new plan will give the U.S. government a 72.5 percent stake in the company and will boost its coffers by as much as $50 billion. Though bondholders "soundly rejected" a deal to forgive $27.2 billion in debt for 10 percent equity, an ad hoc committee of bondholders supports a new plan that offers them rights to buy an additional 15 percent of the company; in a statement, they said they want to avoid "uncertain and costly bankruptcy litigation." But a separate group of bondholders, representing small individuals who hold 20 percent of the company's bond debt, are still reticent. The Main Street Bondholders, as they call themselves, think the new proposal "is still a bad offer." While G.M. stateside baby-steps are considered a success, however, the company's European branch suffered setbacks this week as the German government dodged making a decision on whether it will offer loans to GM's Opel/Vauxhall units.