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GM Focuses on Europe Profit; Thoughtful on Alliance

GM Focuses on Europe Profit; Thoughtful on Alliance General Motors Corp. Chief Financial Officer Fritz Henderson said the worlds largest automaker is focused on increasing profits in Europe and will give a thoughtful analysis to a proposed alliance with Renault SA and Nissan Motor Corp. Were by no means generating an adequate level of profitability or return on investment in Europe and GM will seek to boost its profit margin there, Henderson, 47, told analysts today at a JPMorgan Chase & Co. conference in Paris. As part of its corporate turnaround effort, the Detroit- based automaker is giving careful study to

Rice Woos Europe’s Politicians But Public Remains Skeptical

Rice Woos Europe's Politicians But Public Remains Skeptical US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrapped up a European trip on Thursday having reassured her European counterparts about the secret CIA prison row but failing to convince much of the public. As she travelled from Berlin to Bucharest, then Kiev and finally Brussels, Rice honed her response to allegations that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had flown "prisoners" in the US war on terror through European airspace. In Ukraine, she insisted Washington's obligations under an international convention prohibiting cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment "extend to US personnel wherever they are, whether they are in

Europe to Kerkorian: Spare us merger talk

Europe to Kerkorian: Spare us merger talk European commentators are uniformly trashing the idea of General Motors Corp. joining the Renault-Nissan alliance. That notion was advanced last week by GMs top shareholder, Kirk Kerkorian, in what has been widely perceived as a vote of no confidence in GM chief executive Rick Wagoner, the Detroit News reported Wednesday. The British newspaper Financial Times says Kerkorian has spent about $1.6 billion buying 9.9 percent of GM and has not seen any appreciable increase in that investments value. Kerkorian is a wily old fox who doesnt care about anything but the next value-creating move, and we

Europe: Pessimists cast doubt on outlook for profits

Europe: Pessimists cast doubt on outlook for profits AMSTERDAM European stocks on Tuesday fell the most since November on speculation that earnings prospects did not justify the rally at the start of 2006. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group led a drop by metal producers, the best performers last year, after Alcoa in the United States reported decreasing profit. Insurers slid as Merrill Lynch cut its recommendation on the British giants Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group and Prudential, saying new domestic business would slow. Marks & Spencer Group slipped as the retailer's chief executive said rising costs would constrain earnings.

NATO chief vows to build closer links beyond Europe

NATO chief vows to build closer links beyond Europe NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said here Saturday that the military alliance will establish closer links with nations beyond Europe.Speaking at the 42nd Munich Conference on Security Policy, Scheffer said that NATO's "partners are playing a critical role" in Afghanistan, which he said illustrated a new reality -- in the new security environment. He described the links with NATO's partner countries -- from Austria to Finland and from Armenia to Kazakhstan -- as "a true asset". "We need to ensure that we have the closest possible partnership with those countries