Bankruptcy stalks automakers

Even if General Motors and Chrysler obtain billions more in government loans, the threat of bankruptcy remains high for the troubled automakers, analysts warned Wednesday.
"Despite the extension of considerable emergency funding to GM and Chrysler and their finance arms, we continue to see a high risk of a Chapter 11 (bankruptcy) filing by one or more of the US auto makers," Bruce Clark of Moody's Investors Service said.
Moody's, a credit rating agency, estimated the likelihood of an "orderly" bankruptcy protection filing backed by the government at 70 percent.
GM and Chrysler insist they can return to profitability if the US Treasury extends up to 21.6 billion dollars in additional loans on top of the 17.4 billion approved in December. That would bring GM's total to 30 billion and Chrysler's to nine billion.
In detailed, long-term viability plans submitted to the Treasury Tuesday, they warned that the cost of doing nothing would be far higher.