On Tuesday in Washington, GM and Chrysler will present the Treasury with an update on their progress thus far and restructuring options as they ask for more money to stave off bankruptcy. March 31 is the deadline for a final version of the reports.

According to the Wall Street Journal, one plan includes a Chapter 11 filing that would assemble all of GM's viable assets, including some U.S. brands and international operations, into a new company, while the undesirable assets would be liquidated or sold under protection of a bankruptcy court. And contracts with bondholders, unions, dealers and suppliers would also be reworked. Sources told Reuters that talks with bondholders over a $27.5 billion debt-for-equity swap are likely to take up to Tuesday's deadline to finalize.

The Journal also cited people familiar with the matter, saying Chrysler is expected to submit two scenarios: One showing how it could restructure as an independent company, and the other taking into account its tentative alliance with Fiat SpA.

In other news, Obama answered Senate Democrats' call for creating a panel of advisers instead of appointing a single person, or "car czar," to oversee the restructuring of GM and Chrysler. The AP said Obama also plans to name restructuring expert and former i-banker Ron Bloom as a senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who will oversee the panel (which includes officials from a number of gov't agencies) with National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers. - Baz Hiralal

See the WSJ story
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