$30 billion loss on auto bailout?

[rickaren]

Obama administration predicts $30 billion loss on auto bailout

Posted on Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 3:35 PM EST.(Employee News)

The Obama administration will tell Congress Wednesday that it expects to lose about $30 billion of the $82 billion government bailout of the auto industry, The Detroit News reported.

Gene Sperling, senior counsel to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, confirmed in an interview late today that the administration’s forecast is that it will lose $30 billion on its auto investments—but that’s down from an earlier estimate of $44 billion, paper said. “The real news is the projected loss came down to $30 billion from $44 billion,” Sperling told the News, noting that auto sales have improved ahead of what many analysts had forecast. The administration still holds out hope that if things improve, the administration could still recover more, the story said.

Saving General Motors and Chrysler saved hundreds of thousands of jobs, President Barack Obama said today, the paper noted. The estimate—the first public accounting of losses connected to the rescue of General Motors and Chrysler—is in line with what the Government Accountability Office, the Troubled Asset Relief Congressional Oversight Panel and former auto czar Steve Rattner have suggested, the story said. (The Detroit News)