GM's Chrysler buyout loan denied?

[Bill <Y1TopBanana73@xxxxxxxxx>]

Talks with Nissan to restart???? -

NEW YORK/DETROIT (Reuters) - A deal to merge General Motors Corp
(GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Chrysler LLC has hit
an impasse after the Bush administration ruled out funding for it,
three people with direct knowledge of the talks said.

This puts any merger of the struggling automakers on hold until after
the U.S. presidential election, the sources said.

The development adds a new element of uncertainty for the embattled
U.S. auto industry as Detroit's political allies warn the sector faces
a deepening financial crisis that threatens tens of thousands of jobs.

It also opens the door for Cerberus Capital Management, which owns
Chrysler, to restart talks with the Nissan-Renault alliance run by
Carlos Ghosn. The private equity firm has seen that option as a
backstop to an outright acquisition of Chrysler by GM, one of the
sources said.

The sources declined to be named as they were not authorized to
discuss the private talks. GM and Cerberus declined comment.

This week, Ghosn said he sees any deals among automakers involving a
cash element as unlikely unless the cash came from outside, such as
from the government.

Discussions with Nissan-Renault (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research,
Stock Buzz) (RENA.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) would
likely start with consideration of an expanded product-based tie-up
building on an existing deal between Chrysler and Nissan, the source
familiar with those talks said.

A merged GM-Chrysler would be the largest automaker by sales, but
analysts have cautioned it would struggle to turn around the
overlapping Detroit-based operations of two firms that have seen
mounting losses tied to a global downturn.

Chrysler, which has seen its sales fall 25 percent this year, said it
was moving ahead with a cost-cutting plan and with plans for new
vehicles, including a plug-in hybrid.

"We are taking the tough but necessary decisions to stabilize the
business in the short-term and making the viable long-term business
decisions to restructure the company for the future," Chrysler
spokeswoman Lori McTavish said.

GM and Cerberus have been in talks since September, according to sources.

GM had approached the U.S. Treasury in recent days about support for
the merger through some $10 billion in new funding that would have
included taking an ownership stake in the merged company, people
familiar with the talks have said.

TREASURY STAYS AWAY

But a Bush administration official said on Thursday the Treasury
Department was not negotiating direct aid for the merger.

Instead, the official told Reuters, the administration was working to
speed the distribution of $25 billion in low-cost loans for automakers
to retool factories, a move that was authorized by Congress last
month.

Bill M