Business
General Motors Hastens To Repay Govt Loans
US Car maker General Motors (GM) has said it will start paying back its government loans earlier than expected.
It will make its first payment of $1.2bn (£717m) to the US government on December. GM had not been required to begin repaying the loan until 2015.
The news came as it reported a loss of $1.2bn from 10 July, when it emerged from bankruptcy, to 30 September.
GM chief Fritz Henderson said the firm still had work to do but the results were evidence of a “solid foundation”.
He pointed out that GM, now majority owned by the US government, had a healthier balance sheet with lower dept level. Revenues for the period were $78bn.
GM owes the US $6.7bn and the Canadian government $1.4bn Canada will also receive its first payment on December.
In addition, Germany will be repaid the outstanding 400m Euros (£358m) that it lent on support of GM’s European business Opel.
GM changed its mind over the sale of Opel earlier this month. It had been planning to sell it to a group led by the Canadian car parts maker Magna, but decided instead to retain ownership.
Sales on the US were boosted by the government-sponsored “cash for clunkers” incentive scheme.
GM said the market on China was proving to be a particularly strong contributor to its results. It is predicting “modest growth” in the global car industry in 2010.
In a conference call, Mr. Handerson said GM was preparing for a share offering in second half of next year.
Before GM went into bankruptcy protection in March it had lost $88bn since 2004 after car sales plummeted around the world.
The Obama administration lent the car company money to keep a float on the condition it took drastic action to turn the company around. The chief executive at the time, Rick Wagoner, was asked to resign.
GM emerged from bankruptcy with the US government owning 61% and stakes also held by the United Auto Workers Union, the Canadian government and GM bondholders.
The carmaker bankruptcy protection with roughly $94.7bn in debt. It emerged with $17bn, including the $6.7bn owed to the US government.
The global economic slow down hit just as Japan’s car makers were taking market share from US firms. Toyota overtook GM as the world’s biggest car maker by sales in 2007.
Business
NAFDAC Decries Circulation Of Prohibited Food Items In markets …….Orders Vendors’ Immediate Cessation Of Dealings With Products
Importers, market traders, and supermarket operators have therefore, been directed to immediately cease all dealings in these items and to notify their supply chain partners to halt transactions involving prohibited products.
The agency emphasized that failure to comply will attract strict enforcement measures, including seizure and destruction of goods, suspension or revocation of operational licences, and prosecution under relevant laws.
The statement said “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing incidence of smuggling, sale, and distribution of regulated food products such as pasta, noodles, sugar, and tomato paste currently found in markets across the country.
“These products are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are not permitted for importation”.
NAFDAC also called on other government bodies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Shippers Council, and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), to collaborate in enforcing the ban on these unsafe products.
