But those shareholders knew the risks they were taking when they purchased GM stock in the first place.

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Volkswagen (Frankfurt: VOW.F), with joint ventures in both Shanghai and Changchun, continues to be the leading brand in China, increasing its total market share to 21.8 percent, while General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) follows in second place with 12.2 percent.

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And is there any procedures in place here at the White House now that -- the government owns a large share of GM -- about having procedures in place for potential conflicts of interest in terms of commenting on other cars and dealing with these safety recalls could be a sticky issue.

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In Australia, where he was overseeing a Better Place initiative, the company provides GM customers with a fixed-charging network and home chargers for the plug-in electric-hybrid Volt.

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Better Place has also struck a deal with GM Holden to allow owners of the Volt plug-in electric hybrid to use its network of fixed charging stations.

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GM's Asia strategy is falling neatly into place.

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Sales totaled 175, 220 in August, up 11% from the same month a year ago and putting Ford in second place in Detroit, above Chrysler but behind GM.

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Business Secretary Vince Cable said that GM have been persuaded that Britain is a "very good place to do business".

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Now, the people who believe a reinvented GM is going to be hauling in huge profits are invited to place their bets.

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Reaching investment grade status was one of GM's prime motivations for seeking a buyer for its profitable financing arm in the first place.

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This must have been a point Marchionne really wanted to make, because despite the increasingly crucial place in the presidential campaign that has come to be occupied by the auto bailouts, both GM and Chrysler executives have been nearly completely mum about it.

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At GM, however, waste is viewed not as something to be thrown away, but as a resource out of place.

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