The U.S. Treasury is focusing on selling the shares of General Motors (GM) it accrued during the government bailout of the auto industry over the course of the next year. There is some good news, however, as the predicted losses on the initial $85 billion investment have continued to drop thanks to the recent success of the auto industry.
According to The Detroit News, the expected losses by the government fell by 16 percent, or $4 billion, at the end of 2012. This decrease brought the total losses down to $20.3 billion from $24.3 billion.
Both GM and Chrysler, which was also bailed out by the government, have been helped by recent success, MSN Autos reports. GM's rising stock has helped to boost its value - and the government's investment - which in turn eased the federal losses.
While the U.S. Treasury predicted that the bailout could cost as much as $44 billion in 2009, that number has been steadily dropping and could reach even lower totals in the next few months. The government still has shares in a few Detroit automakers, and the popularity of their models, auto repair and redesigns could bolster stock prices.