what does the future look like for general motors and america? dan akerson is chairman and ceo of general motors. welcome. >> thank you. when i ask businessmen why they're not hiring more and you're sirting on lots of cash, one of the things they always say is uncertainty. uncertainty probably affects you more than anyone else, this consumer demand, if you could get back up to 15 million cars, it would make a big difference. does this incredible month or two of rangeling in washington and the sense we can't get our house in order and we're so divided, do you think this hurts in a measurable way? >> well, you're right. nature abhors a vacuum and markets abhor uncertainty. uncertainty undermines consumer confidence. consumer spending in our country accounts for about 65% to 70 pushes of the gdp. when consumers lose confidence, they hesitate, not as xwul lish, not spending money. it does have an impact on the economy. but there are all sorts of uncertainties youchlt name one. the oil spikes earlier in this year. we got off to a pretty good start in

they say save general motors, save chrysler. we don't need to.lutely. and i remember, this is 2006. so thisisçó two years beforeçó 2008. the reason that we went to the banks was this is going to be one of the biggest transformations in business history because we had to restructure ourselves, go back to profitability. we had over capacity, we had all the brands that we needed to move on. we had to get ourselves right sized to theÑi lower demand, but we also had to change all the factors because there were smaller vehicles in addition to the larger ones. so bigÑi invtment for that. big investment for investing in new products and investing for profitabily later. so we went to the banks with this an and w raised 23.5 billion dollars in 26. so we had the financing to go forward. >> charlie: my question in terms is it all an advantage because your people have said, have been quoted as saying it was a huge bonanza of a marketing advantage for us. it gave us an image at a time that we needed it. >> well i'll just give you one example. >> charlie: ford

serving as vice chairman of general motors. his latest text is "car guys vs. bean counters". also, cedric the entertainer is here. he stars alonside tom hanks in "larry crowne". he launched a new show for nbc called "it's worth what?". coming up right now. \[please stand by/] >> all i know is his name is james, and he needs extra help with his reading. >> i am james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference -- >> thank you. >> you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment, one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: bob lutz has been a creative force in the auto industry. he is also a noted author whose books include the best-selling business book "the cuts". his latest is "car guys vs. bean counters". he joins us from ann arbor, mi

and today it was general motors' turn to kick off contract talks with the united auto workers union. chairman and c.e.o. dan akerson and u.a.w. president bob king shook hands at a gathering inside g.m.'s hamtramick assembly plant. this is the company's first contract negotiation with the union since it emerged from bankruptcy two years ago. both sides pledged to work together during the talks. as diane eastabrook reports, that spirit of cooperation is helping g.m. launch one of its most significant products in decades. >> reporter: these workers aren't just building cars, they're reinventing general motors. the orion township, michigan, plant is making the chevrolet sonic, a $14,000 subcompact that will hit showrooms this fall. it's the first subcompact g.m. has ever built in the u.s. and the significance isn't lost on plant manager alicia boler- davis. >> it's very unique. we're the only ones doing it, and we have a commitment to be successful and do it here. >> reporter: a decade ago, g.m. probably wouldn't have even considered building the sonic in the u.s. because profit margins

>> si actualmente manejas un vehículo ford, nissan, toyota, chrysler, honda or general motors y estástancado con un alto pago mensual de su carro, entonces ponga mucha atención. porque tenemos importante información para usted que podría bajarle los pagos mensuales o hasta ponerlo en un nuevo carro. para averiguar cuánto usted puede ahorrar, llamé al número que aparece en pantalla. representantes altamente capacitados trabajarán para darle las mejores opciones. opciones que incluyen desde entregar su carro por dinero o simplemente cambiar su carro actual por uno completamente nuevo. no se quede atrapado con altos pagos mensuales o con carros sin garantía. dése el lujo de manejar el carro que usted sueña con pagos al alcance de su presupuesto. ahorrar dinero en estos tiempos tan difíciles es más importante que nunca y hoy usted tiene la opción para ayudar a bajar los pagos mensuales de su carro. llamé a auto payment solutions para una consulta gratis. no tiene nada que perder sino mucho que ganar. no espere más, la llamada es gratis desde cualquier ciudad de estados unidos. >> bienven

to do this we already own them as a company general motors needs work we did this during world war two with tanks and jeeps and everything we basically asked the u.s. auto industry to put its people to work building our supply materials and we could do this again but we're not we're well and that's kind of my want to have a thank you run into the problem of. you know creating work where normally there would be and so then you just perpetuate this military industrial complex even further because then you have people that are dependent on a continuing and expanding defenses and continuing strikes because the that's the only thing that they have to build we don't invest in other projects that's what president eisenhower warned actually as his farewell address was the idea of this military industrial complex and so with what i want to talk about and i want to highlight this issue is it just shows how broken the defense procurement process is this is a long list of programs that we've we've spent billions on the army spent forty billion dollars on an artillery system that ultimately

we have our fingers crossed. >>> general motors is trying out a new program that would offer some of its customers one year's worth of free car insurance. it will be launched in oregon and washington state. the deal applies to people who buy new bewick's, cadillacs -- buicks. >>> there will be life after television for the soap operas "all my children" and "one life to live". the dramas will continue. the network has sold the on-line rights to prospect park, a company. we want to know your thoughts about this development. good to wjla.com or you can post your comments on our facebook page. >>> the world's most famous newlyweds' get ready to had to hollywood. prince william and kate are spending their final night in canada after a nine-day visit. they greeted crowds yesterday. the royal couple arrives for a long weekend in california. >>> thousands of harry potter fans lined up for the london premiere of the final installment. some fans waited in line for days in the rain to be the first to see it. their long wait paid off after -- as they walked the red carpet for the premier. u.s. f

. >> general motors is reporting a rise in sales. the june car sales were up by 10%. analysts had predicted an 18% spike. the overall sluggishness in the economy and brand loyalty to japanese auto makers is being cited for the reason. >>> there is something going on in minnesota. the state government was closed for business. the shutdown began at 12 this morning. this impasse means the state parks are closed for the holiday weekend. minnesota is the only state to have a government shutdown this year. >>> we will see why some students say they are disappointed with the latest setback. >> the holiday weekend is here. bob ryan has the >>> we continue with students' frustration over the cessation of maryland cost three match. >> it was to go into effect today. we have reaction from college students wishing to follow their dreams. >> i want to be a doctor. >> this 18-year-old was hoping to benefit from in-state tuition on his way to becoming a doctor. his parents were deported and 2008. he has not seen them since. >> they told me, the main thing you can do is to continue y

the reported numbers, general motors, have more cars expected before. hat wasot able to raise the move in general. after wall street started in negative territory, the also tracked down the markets here in frankfurt. there were various love games that we have seen on monday. >> we can stay for a closer look at the market numbers. the much-changed. they and the day in negative territory at 2850. markets there back in action after a long holiday weekend. ) much flack, market's closing about of the to go. and the value of one u.s. dollar, 4418. the former french finance minister has formally taken over as the new head of the international monetary fund. they will fight sexual assault charges in the u.s.. she is the first woman to head the imf since it was created 70 years ago. the imf is king a leading role in the year as of the crisis. and in the bailout of greece. she is expected to make her fit public appearance on wewednesy. >> we have a world cup action for your right now. germany is facing off against france. both teams are through to the final, but t

chrysler, ford, and general motors. the first contract talks in four years, and the first since gm and chrysler emerged from bankruptcy. >>> housing highlights this week, economic data with june housing starts tuesday, and existing home sales on wednesday. >>> and finally, lady gaga is no longer the queen of facebook. rihanna is now the social network's top-ranking female celebrity with just above 40,800,000 likes. well, america's women fight ravely, but go down in flames in the world cup final against japan. for one brief and shining moment, it seemed like it was all theirs. the early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >>> and well-advertised historic heat wave is under way as it spreads during this week. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." >>> good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, after a handful of heart-stopping comebacks, the u.s. women's soccer team ran out of luck yesterday, just ahead of the world cup finish line. here's nbc's bill seward w

. >> general motors is testing it in show cars. disney in its theme parks and another technology is holograph i can material. sun comes up with a new application every day. innovation is appearing on retail displays is such as a shop window in san anselmo. next step is to make it respond to touch. >>> san jose's undefeated world champions joey chestnut is getting ready to defend his title. he will compete in nathan's hotdog eating contest in new york. he set a world record two years ago eating 68 dogs and buns in just ten minutes. last year he won but only 54 dogs went down. he consumed about 27,000 calories. doctors says he is okay when he sut out of spotlight. >>. >> 54 dogs and no reservice al of fortune. >> that is good. >> i was at am gym and i am no joey chestnut. cannot eat that much. >> there that is where i work them off. come on, work out, have a hotdog. >> i don't think so. >> and where did you go yesterday? was it really nice. >> one of few days of the year we can hang there all day. >> looks like you wear some sunscree

. >>> well general motors free car insurance plan be coming to maryland? right now the auto maker is offering car buyers one year of free insurance through met life. gm says if the program is successful they might expand it. washington and maryland were selected because of weak sales in those states. >>> monster trucks will be flying through the air saturday night at mnt stadium. travis pastrana brought his mean machine to the stadium's parking lot today. meanwhile workers were inside laying down four tons of dirt for the monster truck jam. the show is usually held indoors but now the drivers get to kick dirt all over the stadium. >>> speaking of insurance, you got to wonder -- >> yeah. that's lloyds of london, that's high risk. >> inner harbor had about an inch and a half of rain. some people are picking up 3- inches this evening alone. right now we had two cells. they just re issued the flash flood warnings across northern sections of baltimore city. these two cells continue to move to the north generally at about 15 miles per hour. so, if you're heading

. >>> automakers reporting good news, general motors reported an 11% increase in june sales compared to a year ago, ford sales up 14% and chrysler said sales jumped 40%, their best june since 2007, before the company declared bankruptcy. in japan carmakers are still struggling with the after effects of the earthquake and tsunami, june sales down 21% for toyota and 24% for honda. >>> new at noon hundreds of volunteers counted the homeless of santa clara county for three days, late this morning officials said they want a registry for those staying on the street on a regular basis and services to keep them safe. jade hernandez is live with what they are doing today. >> reporter: tori, you are right, a non-profit group put hundreds of people in santa clara county to count for homeless. what they found, 700 people living on the streets. today volunteers provided services for the homeless while bringing together city leaders to answer how to fix the problem. the lines formed early for services in front of city hall. >> there are a lot of single folks out there, those numbers have gone up a

. >>> and cnbc's nicole lapin here with a story about something general motors is doing they haven'tone since the 1980s. keep it here. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. >>> up dating you on our breaking news out of norway where several people have been nu hurt in a huge explosion that rocked government buildings in oslo. martin what, do we know. >> reporter: well, it was a huge explosion, as you say, in a part of town with many government buildings, cafes, shops. eyewitnesses described chaos as people fled the area, they were afraid of a second bomb. the prime minister is reported to be uninjured. windows of the whole government building 17 stories high were blown out and the damage extended over a half-mile area. apparently the oil ministry was set on fire but it's not clear how extensive that fire was. there are a reports of a number of injured, no reports

ford, the british arm of general motors, and mitsubishi. it does seem like the age we are living in now -- is companies want to show they are showing social responsibility. news corp., the global empire, makes $3 billion per year and earnings. the u.k. newspaper side only represents 4%. take a listen. >> even with a sustained withdrawal of advertising revenue and a loss of readers, the entire group can probably handle that from a financial perspective. however, the knock on effect of this is substantial. clearly creates concern among investors about the ways the company is handling this, the systems and control, the quality of the governance. that hits the share price. that wipes off billions of dollars of value from the company. >> we just had some news that the mobile phone company, 02, has also pulled advertising from the newspaper. the spokesperson says they share concerns and "we will not be purchasing advertising." >> the list is growing by the hour. the company may have to swallow tens of millions in compensation claims, as well. we

. >> tom: general motors is launching a new system to monitor power usage in its chevy volt. the program sends data from the car back to the power grid so utilities can better manage their energy demands. it uses the onstar system to monitor a vehicle's battery charge. using that information, power companies can balance demand and offer incentives to volt owners who charge their cars during off-peak hours. >> susie: facebook and american express are joining forces. their new program is called "link, like, love." it gives amex cardmembers special deals on the amex facebook page. tonight, some thoughts on the importance of social media and what you're missing if you're not using it. here' s alfred edmond junior, senior vice president and editor-at-large at "black enterprise." >> anyone who knows me knows that i love social media. i'm constantly on twitter and facebook and active with perhaps a dozen other social media platforms and tools. but lately, i've become more focused on linkedin, the resume, references and recruitment site that went public in may. once, i barely checked

is working with general motors to explore the u.s. market. it wants to build trains in the u.s. using chinese technology. china knows a thing or two about high-speed rail. in just four years, it's built a 5,000-mile-long high-speed grid, and by 2020, a further 10,000 miles of track will crisscross the country, with the state spending over $100 billion each year. john scales follows transportation in china for the world bank. >> the high-speed rail system in china will connect 15 cities over a population of three million and 50 cities of a population over one million. nowhere else does a high-speed rail system connect cities at such a close distance to each other and in such a dense area than they do in china. >> reporter: over half a million passengers every day use china's fleet of 1,000 bullet trains. so with the benefit of huge economies of scale from the domestic market, chinese companies can compete, fiercely, for projects globally. plus, as professor patrick chovanec explains, they're going armed with offers of cheap loans from china's state-owned banks. >> based upon the

fantastic tv, ben, doesn't give awe lot of hope, considering how much taxpayer money went into general motorsnd chrysler, doesn't make me feel too great about that investment. >> i hate to tell this to you, but people are smoking reefer all over the place and every field and when i used to work on wall street long, long, long years ago, people were smoking a lot of reefer and blowing a lot of cocaine there. so there's a lot of drug use, it's a gigantic problem. i don't know exactly how much that has to do with the issue of unionization, it does have a lot to do with the fact that we have a moral crisis in this country which people refer to get high rather than face their problems and i'm afraid a lot of people in congress seem to be doing the same thing. >> there's no doubt there's a moral crisis aspect to it. something more, listen talking about guys getting high at work in the open, adam. and does it say if you're in a union and you feel like you're protected and could you really get away this kind of stuff? >> well, i hate to be a kill joy in this conversation. >> you're always a kill joy,

sales popped 10% at the nation's biggest auto maker general motors. ford sales rose 13%, but chrysler was the big winner: up 30% thanks to a batch of new models, including the newly redesigned dodge durango and the fiat 500. toyota and honda both post sales declines of more than 20%. korean automakers gained ground: hyundai up 16%. kia 41%. cars.com senior editor joe wiesenfelder says their small cars are in demand. >> yes, i do believe that hyundai and kia are taking advantage of some of the shortages in supply from honda and toyota. people that might have considered japanese might be willing to look at a korean manufacturer. generally speaking though, i think that hyundai and kia are doing well because they've been doing great work recently. they just keep adding more and more strong products. >> susie: while small, fuel efficient cars were top sellers last month, the recent drop in gas prices helped fuel an increase in truck and s.u.v. sales across the major brands. tom, a lot of demand for stocks today. this was one those days that almost everythi

general motors and ford both reported double-digit gains, but chrysler was the big winner with a 30% sales increase. japanese automakers did not fare as well. stocks closed their best week since the bull market began two years ago. thanks to new data showing a rebound in manufacturing. at today's closing bell, the dow rose 168 points, the nasdaq up 42.5 and the s&p 500 up 19 points. monday, our special edition: "women in leadership: dupont c.e.o. ellen kullman" looks her leadership style and how she's guided the fortune 500 company through the recession. for more financial news, tune in to "nightly business report" weeknights on this public television station.

mind, the government may no longer be involved in chrysler, but it still holds a 32% stake in general motors. coming back to chrysler, the majority owner is now fiat, the italian carmaker. by the end of thisse eyear, the will own around 59%. the rest of course is owned by the united auto workers. have a great weekend. >> i appreciate it. thanks very much. >>> as the national unemployment rate rises to 9.2%, there is one area in california specifically that actually is predicting significant job growth. according to a new study released this week, silicon valley employers plan to expand their workforce by 15% over the next two years. nbc's tom brokaw has the latest from that region. >> reporter: silicon valley, the moth moth mother load of high tech has the biggest names to go public for astronomical prices and that means a lot of suddenly wealthy people are in the market for a new car with a pricey name. or a new home. there's no housing prices in the silicon valley. >> you're having homes sell over list price, not only over but sometimes several thousand over. >> reporter: who are these peo

autoworkers begin contract negotiations with detroit's big three automakers, chrysler, ford and general motorshe first contract talks in four years and the first since gm and chrysler emerged from bankruptcy. housing highlights this week. economic data with june housing starts tuesday and existing home sales on wednesday. >>> finally, lady gaga is no longer the queen of facebook. rihanna is now the social network's top ranking female celebrity with just above 40,800,000 likes. >>> america's women fight bravely but go down in flames in the world cup final against japan. for one brief and shining moment, it all seemed like it was theirs. your "first look" at sports is straight ahead. on on a budget wh expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did? booking your flight and hotel at the same time gets you prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it. major wow factor! where you book matters. expedia. >>> welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry. >>> in sport

. >> reporter: general motors is testing it in show cars and disney in its theme park.here is holographic material for use with a nonlaser projector. the small start up in fremont seems to come up with a n application every day. it is appearing on retail displays such as the shop window in san enselmo. the next is to make it respond to touch. with the next step in displays, richard hart, abc news. >> pretty cool. >>> well some people took in some pre forel fireworks -- pre 4thof july fire works tonight. the celebrate america event was sponsored by the bethel church. and fireworks lit up the skies for the third of july celebrations. for more bay area fire work events visit our website at abc7news.com and click on the see it on tv tab. >>> now to leigh glaser and more on those record temperatures. >> wow. it was really a hot one inland today. we will shed a few degrees off tomorrow and tuesday and then it looks like by midweek, alan, we will start to cool things down for the entire bay area. a nice shot out there. this is from our high definition cam in the east bay looki

automakers thurso north america provides steel components for general motors ford and chrysler the company specializes in high technology steel used in car production that is lighter safer than conventional metal. so the markets now while prices are actually recovering flats however after a three day high as investors but that freezing u.s. crude supplies and debt crisis in europe may hold a man or woman cereals for flights we brant. just ten cents a different from what they were yesterday at the close across asia markets are positive after they've showed that china's g.d.p. expanded faster than expected pace on comparably stops gainers results so with china overseas land investment adding almost six percent at one point financials are also heading higher with china construction bank again around two hundred percent japanese stocks are also on the rise however the strong yen is there anything sentiment chip related so seiji lower exporters are gaining on broken home thing image chart for the previous day. here in moscow the my six will open within a matter of minutes the r.t.s. is up howev

automakers service to all north america provide steel components for general motors ford and chrysler recovery specializes in high technology steel that is lighter and safer than conventional that's. going to the markets now and the world prices are flat after reid a higher them versus but increasingly u.s. crude supplies and prices in europe may hold demand for rule materials both light sweet and brant are down slightly this hour losing four cents and. before central square. across asia markets up positive of the data showed the chinese g.d.p. expanded a boss an expected pace hong kong property stocks gain those results and we did see china overseas land investment adding around six percent of one point financials are also strong japanese stocks are on the rise with a stronger yen however dampening sentiment and limiting gains this point four percent on the nikkei. in moscow trading kicked off around an hour ago looks flat to positive this putting on point three percent to my six just a notch let's take a look at some of the individual movers on the my sex energy shares a week as wel