Chrysler Tops Peers in Bankruptcy Risk, JPMorgan Says
General Motors Corp. is the next most likely and Ford Motor Co. is the least, JPMorgan analyst Himanshu Patel wrote in a report today, quoting discussion yesterday by analysts from Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings. S&P and Moody's both cut Chrysler's credit one level on Aug. 7, seven steps below investment grade.
“There seemed general agreement, too, that a filing by one of the Detroit three would be negative, on balance, for the remaining two companies,'' Patel wrote. The fallout would include a drag on new-car prices and trade-in terms, he said.
Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli said in April that the closely held company wouldn't have a net profit in 2008. The Cerberus Capital Management LP unit's U.S. sales fell 23 percent this year. Bloomberg