Maybe not. Maybe when German Chancellor Angela Merkel met President Obama at the White House Friday, the economic discussion will be on higher-level issues, like why Germany doesn't stimulate enough (the U.S. view) and why the U.S. does it too much (the German opinion).
Still, given the role that Fiat SpA has played in the rescue of Chrysler LLC, and the prospect of a Middle Eastern investment in German sports car maker
Porsche Automobilholding SE, the two leaders could certainly compare notes on how foreign investors help can smooth the way for a domestic bailout.
And in fact, the Stuttgart-based maker of the 911 and Cayenne on Friday said talks
with the Qatar Investment Authority about a cash injection were in the
final stretch, according to The Wall Street Journal. However, it remains
unclear whether the sovereign fund will take part of Porsche or its
51%-owned mass-market division, Volkswagen AG.
Porsche is struggling under €9 billion ($12.7 billion) in debt and shadowy commitments
on an estimated 20% VW stake ally banks picked up as Porsche zoomed
toward a complete VW takeover, which stalled as the debt mounted. The
entrance of a new investor would likely change Berlin's mind on a €1.75
billion rescue loan it's expected to reject on the grounds Porsche's
future is shaky.
Elsewhere on the German bailout front, catalog retailer Quelle GmbH
may be out of options.
Quelle is a unit of insolvent Arcandor AG, and the government is expected to reject a special €50 million loan that would have made
Berlin one of the parent's most senior creditors.
The reason?
Handelsblatt says the government can't find any collateral that isn't
already promised to someone else, including badly damaged Arcandor
shares. The credit is needed to fund the ongoing publication and
delivery of Quelle's annual catalog, which the company said would be in
jeopardy without help from the federal government.
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Andrew Bulkeley
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