O'KEEFE IN THE NEWS

-
Mar 06, 2010 - Dan StrumpfNEW YORK — General Motors Co. will reinstate 661 dealerships it sought to drop from its sales network. GM executives said Friday that the dealerships — more than half of those seeking to stay with the automaker — will receive letters giving them the option to remain open. GM...
-
Mar 05, 2010 - Clare Baldwin and Soyoung KimNEW YORK/DETROIT, March 5 (Reuters) - Car parts maker Sensata Technologies Holding (ST.N) probably won't turbocharge a mostly stalled IPO market as concerns about valuation and debt may outweigh hopes it could benefit from a broader auto market recovery. Sensata, which is looking to float its...
-
Jan 28, 2010 - Chris IsidoreThree years of losses at Ford Motor ended in 2009 with a $2.7 billion net profit. Ford Motor reported its first full-year profit since 2005 and said it expects to be profitable again in 2010. The automaker, which has outpaced the turnaround at both its domestic and some overseas rivals, said...
-
Jan 26, 2010 - Robert Snell and David ShepardsonCEO expected to stay just long enough Edward E. Whitacre Jr.'s tenure as chief executive at General Motors Co. likely will last a year or two, long enough to address lingering problems in North America and Europe, prepare the automaker for a public stock offering and groom a successor, analysts...
-
Dec 13, 2009 - Ryan BeeneMarket sees promise, helps firms raise funds Investors are beginning to show renewed interest in the automotive industry after months of near-frozen credit markets, bankruptcies and plummeting stock prices plagued many of metro Detroit's largest firms. In the last month, four publicly traded...
-
Dec 03, 2009 - Maria WoehrThe search for General Motors Co.'s next CEO is on, and even though the search could take a year, some names are already being bounced around. The Deal spoke with Mike Boudreau, an automotive turnaround expert from O'Keefe & Associates, about Fritz Henderson's resignation and AP's list of top...
-
Dec 03, 2009 - John S. Stoll, Sharon Terlep and Kate LinebaughThe newly installed chief executive of General Motors Co., Chairman Edward E. Whitacre Jr., plans to push the car maker to boost market share and profit despite the sour economy and to find younger, more aggressive executives, said people familiar with his thinking. He also told employees he may...
-
Dec 02, 2009 - JOHN D. STOLL and KATE LINEBAUGHFritz Henderson, chief executive officer of General Motors, holds a press conference to give GM's first post-bankruptcy financial report at GM headquarters Nov. 16 in Detroit. Facing increasing pressure from his board of directors, General Motors Co. Chief Executive Frederick "Fritz"...
-
Dec 01, 2009 - Sharon Silke CartyDETROIT — Just eight months after taking the reins at General Motors, CEO Fritz Henderson was ousted by the board Tuesday. Henderson, formerly old GM's chief operating officer, fought from the beginning to be considered a viable chief but often appeared to be at odds with Ed Whitacre, the...
-
Nov 25, 2009 - Robert SnellA year after pleading for taxpayer money to stay afloat, General Motors Co. is showing signs of a turnaround made possible by $50 billion in federal loans. Demand for GM cars and trucks rose in October for GM's first monthly sales gain in almost two years. The automaker has slashed costs by...
-
Nov 17, 2009 - Robert SnellBetter than expected results in 3rd quarter indicate firm stabilizing post-bankruptcy. Detroit -- General Motors Co. might be able to repay $6.7 billion in federal aid by next summer, five years earlier than expected, because the automaker's worst pre-bankruptcy financial fears never...
-
Nov 16, 2009 - Sharon Silke CartyDETROIT — General Motors said Monday that it's already planning to start paying back its government loans, but experts say not to be too bowled over by the figures. The automaker is paying the loans out of its government escrow account, money it's had available since the company emerged...
-
Nov 16, 2009 - Kevin Krolicki & David Bailey* Analysts say results show pressure remains on GM * GM to begin repaying U.S., Canadian debt in December * Net loss of $1.2 bln for July 10-Sept. 30 period (Recasts with details from analyst presentation, quotes) DETROIT, Nov 16 (Reuters) - General Motors Co said on Monday it lost $1.2 billion...
-
Nov 05, 2009 - James R. HealeyChrysler Group talked about some jazzy vehicles in the long-winded rollout of its five-year plan Wednesday, but the biggest shock came not from styling and interiors, but from dollar signs: The company said it is solvent and profitable. CEO Sergio Marchionne said Chrysler had $5.7 billion on hand...
-
Nov 04, 2009 - James R. HealeyFiat and Chrysler Group are scheduled to spend an almost unblievable six hours Wednesday briefing analysts and journalists about the U.S. automaker's five-year business plan, or survival plan, if you prefer. Word already has spread about a number of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models that are...
-
Nov 03, 2009 - Kevin Krolicki & Philipp HalstrickDETROIT/FRANKFURT, Nov 3 (Reuters) General Motors reversed course on Tuesday by abandoning a long-expected sale of its Opel to a group led by Canadian auto supplier Magna and opting to keep the European unit after a year of uncertainty and high-stakes political negotiations. GM said improving...
-
Nov 03, 2009 - Joseph SzczesnyChrysler Group LLC’s new chief executive officer, Sergio Marchionne, will outline his plans for the future of the automaker today with an elaborate presentation at the company’s headquarters in Auburn Hills. The presentation comes not a moment too soon, with more doubts about the...
-
Oct 21, 2009 - Sharon TerlepBIRMINGHAM, Mich. (Dow Jones)--Auto parts makers may find themselves left in the lurch next year when the world's vehicle markets are expected to begin their recovery, as jittery lenders continue to shun the troubled industry. The auto supply base, particularly in the U.S., remains...
-
Sep 28, 2009 - Ryan Beene and Tom Henderson
-
Aug 06, 2009 - J.D. BoothMoving Us Forward: Michigan's Top Executives Responsibility. Resolve. Resourcefulness. The list of qualities the very best executives demonstrate goes on and on. But first and foremost is a keen sense of leadership. Of knowing what needs to be done and doing it, unflinchingly, taking a...
-
Aug 03, 2009 - Steve GunnROTHBURY - At this time last year, it seemed as though the 77-year-old Double JJ Ranch resort in southern Oceana County might be a permanent victim of the economic downturn. The owners of the resort filed for bankruptcy last July and the business closed its doors on Labor Day, just a few months...
-
Jul 09, 2009 - WZZMDETROIT, Mich. (WZZM) - After more than a month in bankruptcy, a new General Motors may emerge Thursday. Our news partner the Detroit Free Press says the U.S. Treasury and GM executives are expected to announce the new automaker Thursday afternoon. The U.S. government is expected to own 60...
-
Apr 08, 2009 - Dan MeislerConsolidations in a struggling industry like housing are not particularly surprising, but the $3.1 million purchase of Centex Corp. by Bloomfield Hills-based Pulte Homes is dramatic considering they've competed against each other for years. Analysts have different takes on the deal, with one saying...
-
Mar 31, 2009 - Joseph SzczesneyIn the end, General Motors Chairman Richard Wagoner had become an easy target. Only last week, Wagoner, GM’s top executive for almost nine years, said during an interview that he had no intention of resigning. Even on Sunday, GM press officers, the company’s first line of defense in...
-
Mar 31, 2009 - ProsperBLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI -- O'Keefe Investment Banking is joining with Metro Detroiters Jeff Burton (producer of eight movies in Michigan) and Chuck Pfarrer (acclaimed author/screenwriter of "The Jackal," "Darkman") to bring local movie producers and potential financiers together via...
-
Mar 19, 2009 - Russ LongHelping keep automakers in the driver's seat. What the government is doing now, is tonight's top story. The Obama administration announced a five billion dollar plan today tobuffer the finances of struggling auto suppliers. The Supplier Support Program will use a trickle-down method of...
-
Mar 06, 2009 - Tim HigginsGeneral Motors Corp. warned on Thursday that its plan to make itself viable could fail -- even with $30 billion in federal loans -- if auto sales continue their downward spiral and don't rebound next year. The warning came during a week in which GM said its U.S. sales plummeted 53.1% in February...
-
Feb 13, 2009 - Melinda YoungIn a recent survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute, Detroit’s commercial real estate market came in last place out of 45 markets nationwide. The population exodus in recent years — caused in large part by the auto industry’s woes — hasn’t...
-
Dec 21, 2008 - Pat O'KeefeBy ALEX P. KELLOGG Although billions of dollars in loans are on the way from the federal government, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC remain beset by big problems that need timely fixes, industry analysts said. Burdensome union costs, long term financial strain and a short timeline for...
-
Dec 14, 2008 - Shandra MartinezGRAND RAPIDS -- Shirley Cowham bent over the display, looking for a gift card for a neighbor who plows her driveway. "I like to give gift cards because I like to get them," the 71-year-old Caledonia resident said. But she is taking more care these days when she selects gift cards...
Jan 25, 2010 - Jeff Bennett, Joann S. Lublin and Neal E. Boudette
DETROIT -(Dow Jones)- General Motors Co.'s interim chief executive, Ed Whitacre Jr., said Monday he will permanently keep the top leadership spot and reiterated the company's plans to repay its $8.1 billion in U.S. and Canadian government loans by June.
"This was not my...
Jan 04, 2010 - Bryce G. Hoffman and Alisa Priddle
Industry avoided collapse last year, but more shutdowns likely in 2010
Dearborn --Automobile sales may be rebounding, but 2010 will be another tough year for American automotive suppliers.
The supply base collapse that many feared last fall may have been averted, but there is still too much...
Aug 06, 2009 - Sven Gustafson
The recent arrest of two Southeast Michigan men accused of defrauding at least 440 investors out of more than $50 million once again has turned the spotlight on Ponzi schemes just months after Bernard Madoff made international headlines.
But the latest case, involving an investment office in...
Jul 11, 2009 - By Jim Puzzanghera and W.J. Hennigan and Martin Zimmerman
Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington -- GM emerged from its warp-speed bankruptcy Friday delivering the following message: This won't be your father's General Motors. Smaller, less debt-ridden and mindful of the $50-billion bet that taxpayers have made on the automaker's survival, company...
Jul 02, 2009 - Jewel Gopwani
As Lear Corp. prepares to file for bankruptcy protection, the Southfield-based maker of automotive seats has designed a filing that could lead to a quicker trip through reorganization than those of the company's peers.
Lear has negotiated agreements with many of its lenders and bondholders, but...
Jun 30, 2009 - Alisa Priddle
It can tinker with strategies on its way through court; hearing on assets sale begins today.
Efforts by General Motors Corp. to emerge from bankruptcy smaller but financially stronger hinge on a hearing that begins today in New York to approve the sale of the automaker's best assets to create a...
Jun 30, 2009 - Joseph Szczesny
The Lear Corp. could be forced into bankruptcy as soon as today.
The Southfield-based auto supplier, which is listed on the Fortune 500, is scheduled to make an interest payment on its outstanding debt after using a 30- day grace period that was available to the company.
Lear spokesman Mel...
Jun 02, 2009 - Greg Burns
Anybody with a 401(k) already knows this, but as of Monday, it's official: The stock market is goofy.
Biggest domestic automaker goes belly up? No problem.
Its stock will be practically worthless? Buy it anyway.
The government is going to make Buicks? Double down.
Nothing could get in the way of...
Jun 02, 2009 - Sharon Silke Carthy
DETROIT — General Motors' bankruptcy filing Monday was sold by the company and the U.S. government as a positive: an opportunity for the automaker's expedited rebirth as a smaller, leaner, more consumer-focused corporation.
In reality, it's a risky play for the economy. If all goes...
Jun 02, 2009 - James R. Healey
General Motors' bankruptcy is the fourth-biggest, measured by assets just before filing for Chapter 11 protection, but it's No. 1 in symbolism: An American icon throws in the towel. The inventor of the car payment, the tailfin and planned obsolescence no longer can hack it.
No choice, CEO...
Jun 01, 2009 - Nicolas Van Praet
Chrysler LLC is poised to exit from bankruptcy protection within days after a U.S. bankruptcy judge approved a new reorganization plan for the ailing automaker in what is being hailed as a miraculously quick resurrection of a company many had left for dead only weeks ago.
Judge Arthur Gonzalez on...

