Confidence in US vehicle makers remained shakey on Monday as credit markets continued to punish the sector. The latest sign of concern about the financial health of the Detroit Three came from a refinancing by Chrysler’s lending arm. The automaker revealed late Sunday it had only been able to refinance $24bn of a $30bn one-year credit facility that was expiring. In volatile trading Monday, the cost of buying insurance against a debt default on GM and Ford rose to new highs. Dealers said the prices being demanded indicated a chance of default upwards of 85% on GM and about 75% cent on Ford over five years. GM last week reported a Q2 net loss of $15.5bn, one of the worst in its history.
