Whether or not General Motors shareholders press company leaders Tuesday at the Renaissance Center for their annual meeting, the political issue of remains of how much U.S. taxpayers might lose on their investment in the nation's largest automaker.
G.M. has recorded excellent earnings recently, but the stock has been stuck at low levels compared to its issue price of $33 on Nov. 18, 2010.
The U.S. Treasury, GM's largest shareholder with a 32% stake, won't have a high-ranking representative at the meeting, a Treasury Department spokesman told the Free Press.
Despite posting a $7.6-billion profit in 2011 and another $1 billion in this year's first quarter, GM stock is trading between $21 and $22. That's about one-third below its initial public offering price, and less than half the approximate $53 price at which the government would break even on the $49.5 billion invested prior to GM's 2009 bankruptcy restructuring.
