news
Falling bank stocks
unravel market rally
n NEW YORK - Volatile financial stocks steered the overall market for the third straight day after Morgan Stanley and credit card issuer Capital One Financial Corp. posted lackluster quarterly reports. Investors have been worried about rising levels of souring debt on bank balance sheets.
Michigan
GM to shut many U.S.
plants up to nine weeks
n DETROIT - General Motors Corp. is planning to temporarily close most of its U.S. factories for up to nine weeks this summer because of slumping sales and growing inventories of unsold vehicles, two people briefed on the plan said Wednesday.
The exact dates of the closures were not known, but both people said they will occur around the normal two-week shutdown in July to change from one model year to the next. Neither person wanted to be identified because workers have not been told of the shutdowns.
GM spokesman Chris Lee would not comment other than to say the company notifies employees before making any production cuts public.
The automaker is living on $13.4 billion in government loans and faces a June 1 deadline to cut its debt, reduce labor costs and take other restructuring steps. If it doesn't meet the deadline, the company's CEO has said it will enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Wire reports
Police investigating death
of Freddie Mac official
WASHINGTON -- The chief financial officer of money-losing mortgage giant Freddie Mac was found dead in his basement early Wednesday morning in what police said was an apparent suicide.
David Kellermann, 41, apparently hung himself, said a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.
Kellermann's death is the latest in a string of blows to Freddie Mac since it was seized by the government last September. The company, which owns or guarantees about 13 million mortgages, has been criticized for financing risky loans that fueled the real estate bubble and are now defaulting at a record pace.