European Crisís affects GM earnings

GM on Wednesday posted net income of $1.8 billion, down from $2.1 billion it earned a year earlier. But the result soundly beat forecasts of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. And the company said that its pretaxoperating earnings in the fourth quarter should be similar or slightly better than the final quarter of lastyearlosses in Europe soaredto $478 million from $292 million a year earlier. The company warned that its full-year losses in Europe will be between $1.5 billionand $1.8 billion, and said it won't be profitable there until the middle of the decade. But Europe wasn't the only drag on results. Operating profits in North America fell17% to $1.8 billion. That was partly balanced by improved results in its international unit, which includes operations in China. GM once again sold more cars and trucks in China than in the United States in the period. "While we still have a lot of work to do, especially in Europe, it is encouraging to see our results begin to reflect the discipline we arebringing to bear on the overall business," said Dan Ammann, the company's chief financial officer.