Toyota profit jumps on sales rise

(Reuters) - Toyota, the world's biggest and most profitable automaker, left its cautious annual forecasts unchanged, as expected.




The Japanese firm, valued at $215 billion -- more than 10 times the market capitalization of U.S. rival General Motors Corp. -- is on its way to a seventh straight year of record earnings, powered by a rapid expansion into developing markets such as China and Russia.


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US STOCKS-Indexes trim gains, mortgage insurers slip

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 31 - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday
but were off their highs on jitters about fallout from the
subprime mortgage market and rising oil prices, which partly
offset strong earnings and positive economic indicators.




General Motors Corp. set the stage for gains after
the automaker swung to a profit in the second quarter and
handily topped Wall Street's expectations [ID:nN31206991].


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UPDATE 1-GM offers zero-percent financing on pickups

(Reuters) - DETROIT, July 30 - General Motors Corp
said on Monday it had begun offering zero-percent financing for
up to 60 months on the extended and crew cab versions of its
2007 pickup trucks in response to competitors' discounts.




"We want to be competitive in the marketplace and there has
been increasingly heavy spending by our competitors," said John
McDonald, GM spokesman.


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U.S. Stock-Index Futures Rise; Alcoa, GM , Akamai Technologies Advance

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures rose as
investors speculated the biggest weekly sell-off in more than
four years was excessive.

Alcoa Inc., the world's second-largest aluminum company, and
General Motors Corp. rose in Europe after their shares lost more
than 10 percent last week. Verizon Communications Inc. may be
active before the telephone service provider posts earnings.


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GM, Ford, Toyota Back New U.S. Mileage Goals to Head Off Stricter Rules

(Bloomberg) -- Automakers are embracing legislation
in the U.S. House that would raise fuel-economy standards,
abandoning years of resistance because of concerns they might
otherwise be forced to accept even tougher measures.

An industry group representing General Motors Corp., Ford
Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and six other auto companies is
backing a bill that would require a more than one-quarter
increase in average vehicle mileage by 2022. Competing measures
in the House and Senate mandate stricter requirements that would
compel earlier compliance and probably cost the industry more.


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Treasuries Attract Cash-Flush Pension Funds Loaded With Stock Market Gains

(Bloomberg) -- Treasuries are getting an unexpected
boost from pension funds controlling more than $14 trillion.

Fund managers for companies including General Motors Corp.
and Alcatel-Lucent are shifting away from stocks to prepare for
accounting changes requiring them to more fully disclose the
value of their holdings. Bonds are gaining favor as funds seek
to avoid wider swings in prices that may accompany equities as
the new rules take effect, possibly later this year.


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UAW's Gettelfinger Stuck Between Reuther's Legacy, `Crashing' Car Industry

(Bloomberg) -- Ron Gettelfinger, chief of the United
Auto Workers, will sit at the bargaining table with the Big Three
automakers while holding one of the weakest hands in the 72-year-
old union's history. He'll also have the shadow of union icon
Walter Reuther looming over him.

Gettelfinger started negotiating today with companies that
lost a combined $15 billion last year -- a far cry from the era
when Reuther won health insurance and pensions for the rank-and-
file during two decades running the UAW until his death in 1970.
General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler now are looking
to roll back those so-called legacy costs, which include retiree
health-care liabilities of $114 billion.


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General Motors Narrows Sales Gap With Toyota on Higher Demand Outside U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp. outsold Toyota
Motor Corp. in the second quarter, buoyed by sales in China and
Latin America, as it battles to maintain its 76-year reign as
the world's largest carmaker.

GM sold 2.405 million vehicles globally, compared with
Toyota's sales of 2.367 million, in the three months ended June
30, the carmakers said in separate statements. That cut Toyota's
lead in the first half to 42,000 vehicles from 88,000 in the
first quarter.


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PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - July 4

(Reuters) - * Buyout firm KKR & Co. LP [KKR.UL] filed to raise $1.25
billion in an initial public offering, following in the
footsteps of archrival Blackstone Group.




* Detroit's big three auto makers posted weaker June sales
despite fresh incentives, as General Motors Corp. and
Ford Motor Co. continued to slash sales to rental fleets.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s U.S. vehicle sales jumped 10
percent.


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Auto discounts deepen in June: analyst

(Reuters) - All of the six leading automakers offered bigger discounts in June than they had in May with the exception of General Motors Corp. , Edmunds said.




In a significant departure from usual practice, the three leading Japanese automakers all stepped up their discounting in the face of slack demand, Edmunds said.


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Discounts seen fueling U.S. auto sales in June

(Reuters) - "Sales appear to have picked up nicely in June, following
the lackluster selling rate of the past three months," Lehman
Brothers analyst Brian Johnson said. "This is largely due to a
sizable increase in incentives so far this month, and the
generous new marketing programs."




General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. last
week began offering qualified buyers zero-percent financing for
three years plus additional cash on select vehicles as they
tried to boost sales at the end of the month.


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U.S. Stocks Advance After Fed Says Economy to Keep Growing; Monsanto Gains

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks gained for a second day
after the Federal Reserve said the economy will probably keep
growing and analysts upgraded Intel Corp. and Cisco Systems
Inc.

Monsanto Co., the world's biggest seed producer, rose
after earnings beat analyst estimates. General Motors Corp.,
the largest U.S. automaker, climbed after selling a unit that
makes transmissions.


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UAW May Hire Lazard for Health-Care Advice in U.S. Auto Talks, People Say

(Bloomberg) -- The United Auto Workers may hire
investment bank Lazard Ltd. to advise the union on health-care
concessions in contract talks with U.S. automakers, two people
with knowledge of the matter said.

The union told New York-based Lazard to be ready to assist
in negotiations that begin next month with General Motors Corp.,
Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler, said the
people, who asked not to be named because the plans are private.


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UAW leaders say strike an option in national talks

(Reuters) - The union begins contract talks with General Motors Corp. , Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group, which DaimlerChrysler AG AG is selling this summer.




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UPDATE 1-GMAC's ResCap says subprime mortgages at a dribble

(Reuters) - GMAC, the finance company in which General Motors Corp.
sold a majority stake last year, last month said it
posted a first-quarter net loss as the subprime mortgage crisis
forced it to take charges. GM Chief Financial Officer Fritz
Henderson also said the "maelstrom" of the subprime market
caused the automaker's results to fall short of forecasts.




ResCap, a survivor of the crisis that sent dozens of
lenders out of business or into bankruptcy, is still working to
get its mortgage products "in front of customers," Wold said,
speaking at the American Securitization Forum's annual meeting
in New York. Subprime lending will pick up but probably won't
return to the "old" heyday, she said.


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