Kirk Kerkorian is still dumping Ford shares. Tracinda, Kerkorian's investment vehicle, pared its position to 4.89% from 6.09% on October 20. At its peak, Tracinda owned 6.43% of the company.
The National Automobile Dealers Association estimates 700 new-car dealerships will close this year, and 37,100 jobs will go with them. The country's 20,700 dealerships accounted for $693 billion in sales last year, 18% of all retail sales. Dealership salaries make up 13% of the country's retail payroll.
Despite the obvious effects these closures will have on the economy, they could also make things worse for the Big Three. As their biggest dealerships shutter, GM, Ford, and Chrysler will have fewer avenues to push their vehicles.
However, Porsche still seems to be doing fine. Porsche a 74.1% stake in fellow German automaker Volkswagen. Shares rose as much as 93% on the news. Volkswagen soared so much due to heavy short covering. No one expected Porsche to have increased its stake from 35% to 74%. Hedge-fund managers were literally in tears, according to the Financial Times.
The rise makes Volkswagen the world's largest publicly traded company. Volkswagen had a peak market cap of $370 billion, more than ExxonMobil's $343 billion as of Monday.
I wonder how other luxury sports car manufacturers are faring?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment