The city of Detroit has an unsustainable way of doing business and can no longer use borrowing and deferring liabilities as a way to buy itself time. A report to be issued on Monday makes official what experts and consultants have been saying for years: "Detroit spends more than it takes in...

Kevyn Orr is getting down to business on his first day as Detroit's emergency manager, and one of his goals is to help would-be entrepreneurs in the city do the same. Orr, 54, a former Washington, D.C., bankruptcy attorney, told Crain's Detroit Business reporters and editors during a Wednesday...

It's game time, as newly appointed Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr said last week during his press conference and media interviews. But he's already been working on his first few plays. Orr said in a Friday interview with Crain's that he will focus both on quick fixes -- like improving...

Detroit's flirtation with municipal bankruptcy could become more serious with the state's appointment of an emergency financial manager who candidly says he's comfortable in a courtroom battling out such complex issues. Kevyn Orr, who officially begins the job March 25, told the Free Press on...

Rick Snyder's decision to put Detroit in the hands of an emergency financial manager on Thursday may not go down well in the heavily Democratic Motor City, but the Republican governor has the chance to go down in Michigan history as the man who saved Detroit. The biggest state takeover of an...

A veteran lawyer who once worked on Chrysler’s bankruptcy has been handed what may prove to be his toughest case yet: to bring Detroit back from the edge of financial collapse. Michigan officials on Thursday appointed the lawyer, Kevyn Orr, a partner in the Jones Day law firm, as an...

DETROIT (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder plans to announce Friday whether Detroit will be getting an emergency financial manager, Mayor Dave Bing said. At a news event Thursday, Bing said he spoke to the governor by phone earlier in the day. “Everybody’s got a pretty good idea of what the...

Wanted: A seasoned turnaround expert who can lead the city of Detroit through tough decisions needed to fix its balance sheet. Experts believe an emergency manager in the city is all but certain; Gov. Rick Snyder said Thursday he will take at least another week to make a decision on whether he...

Detroit is in a financial emergency. Many of us in the turnaround and banking industry have known the city's struggles for years, without ever taking an extensive look at revenue and expenditures. Tuesday's financial review team announcement confirmed what we all suspected -- sweeping changes...

Boudreau Business Brief Newsletter A Message from Mike Boudreau CPA, CTP, CFF One of our firm’s strongest assets is the ability to achieve results that exceed expectations.  Although engagements typically begin with an analysis phase, they subsequently move in many different...

Boudreau Business Brief Newsletter

DETROIT -- Other cities and towns have teetered at the edge of financial disaster lately, but Detroit, the capital of America's auto industry and once the nation's fourth-largest city, has just become the most striking test case for a key question: Can a city that has fallen so far be saved? A...

Charles Thomas is thinking about scoring some new business when he's at Comerica Park today for Opening Day. A director at the Southfield investment and wealth-management firm Telemus Capital Partners, he is taking a potential client to the Tigers' home opener against the Boston Red Sox. The...

Outsourcing part of plans; critics fear loss of local control Detroit— The state is calling for certain "support initiatives" in its proposed financial stability agreement to deliver city services more efficiently, but critics fear they would add bureaucracy and trample union...

DETROIT (AP) — Like clock hands spinning backward, Sandy Gajewski's pay is moving in the wrong direction, and the fire-engine painter doesn't know where her pay will bottom out under a proposed consent agreement between the city and state. The 53-year-old Gajewski and many other Detroit...

Boudreau Business Brief January 2012 Newsletter A Message from Mike Boudreau CPA, CTP, CFF December proved to be a strong springboard into 2012. We completed a complex restructuring assignment that initially to the other constituent’s, looked like a liquidation and financial meltdown...

Municipal experts fear that a Chapter 9 filing would be complex and difficult The deepening financial crisis in Detroit has intensified hints that the city could opt for bankruptcy, but financial experts warn the move could cost taxpayers millions, stall economic development and take years to...

The Michigan Department of Treasury will launch a preliminary review of Detroit's finances, state officials announced today, the first step in a months-long process that could result in appointment of an emergency manager for the cash-strapped city. State Treasurer Andy Dillon said the...

Just what medicine will Pontiac have to swallow in the next deficit elimination plan? The city’s budget has been submitted to the state Department of Treasury, giving an explanation why Pontiac’s deficit will go from the projected $1.75 million to $12.5 million by the end of the...

In a healthcare environment wracked by uncertain economics, shifting patient demographics, changing clinician attitudes, and reform-minded regulators, today’s forward-thinking hospitals and physicians recognize there’s only one way to successfully move forward: together. Drawing on the...

But fund managers say retail investors will be ready, as they should be SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The second-biggest IPO in U.S. history is finally winding its way toward Wall Street, and while the road ahead is fraught with hazards, some analysts still see big potential in a rebuilt General...

DETROIT (TheStreet) -- The opinions on whether or not General Motors's planned acquisition of auto lender AmeriCredit (ACF) for $3.5 billion is a smart move run the gamut. In fact, about the only thing observers agree on is the deal is a classic risky proposition. The skepticism makes sense...

Who’da thunk it? The U.S. becomes a low-cost producer. Looking for the least-expensive place to make a stainless steel, anodized aluminum, high-end electronic parts or even Frisbees? Check out the United States. How about automated teller machines, earthmovers, ready-to-assemble home and...

The Michigan Attorney General's Office finalized contracts Monday with two consulting firms that have two months to review the pending sale of the Detroit Medical Center to Vanguard Health Systems. The contracts, which the office posted on its Web site Monday, call for AlixPartners of Chicago and...

Road to diversification takes patience; trade groups, government outlets can help Michael Boudreau has this advice for companies looking to branch out into new industries: Brace yourself for a long ride. Boudreau, director of Bloomfield Hills turnaround firm O’Keefe and Associates, said...

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said Monday that the automaker should beat its expectations for the year and it's working to launch an initial public offering "as quickly as we can. The timing of an IPO, he said, will depend on the pace of Chrysler's financial improvement and how likely the...

Vanguard bets on urban strategy Vanguard Health Systems Inc., an investor-owned hospital chain based in Nashville, Tenn., has the financial ability to purchase Detroit Medical Center in a $1.5 billion package deal, but two financial experts who have reviewed the proposal tell Crain's that the...

Aside from confirming that GM has paid off $5.8 billion in loans owed to the U.S. and Canadian governments five years before the government deadline, Whitacre boldly predicted the U.S. government would recoup its entire $50-billion-plus investment in the automaker and possibly even make money on...

DETROIT—General Motors Co. incurred a $4.3 billion loss in the second half of 2009 as the company grappled with weak U.S. sales and began to repay government loans.   Despite the loss, Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said GM still stands a good chance of being profitable in...

Auto suppliers that cut their costs during the industry's downturn in 2009 are banking on success as auto sales tick up during the next few years. Wall Street is making that bet, too. Shares of several auto suppliers, some of which have soared since hitting all-time lows in 2009 -- continue to...

NEW 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...

NEW 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...

Three 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...

CEO 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...

Market 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...

The 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...

The 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...

Fritz 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"...

DETROIT — 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...

A 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...

Better 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...

DETROIT — 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...

* 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...

Chrysler 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...

Fiat 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...

DETROIT/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...

Chrysler 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...

BIRMINGHAM, 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...

Moving 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...

ROTHBURY - 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...

DETROIT, 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...

Consolidations 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...

In 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...

Helping 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...

General 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...

By 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...

GRAND 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...