A Skinnier GM

After a 40-day stay, General Motors (GMGMQ) exited from bankruptcy on Friday. Yesterday morning, some of General Motors Corp.'s best assets, including its Chevrolet and Cadillac brands, were sold to a new company: General Motors Co. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company will now enjoy "lower costs, a lighter debt load and four automotive brands instead of eight." And, the refreshed automaker has vowed to change its ways. The paper says the company is "scrapping a number of senior posts." Chief executive Fritz Henderson told the New York Times on Friday, "We don't have a lot of bad executives. We just have too many of them." The Washington Post says that the number of U.S. execs will be cut by 35 percent. CNNMoney.com reports that the company will start selling "a whole line of cars" on eBay (EBAY) through a pilot program. Right now, the Web site says, the effort will be limited to California, but it could become bigger if it's a success.

The chairman of the House Education Committee has decided to endorse Obama's plan to get private banks out of the business of federal student lending. According to the New York Times, "[A]fter mulling the issue for months, Representative George Miller, the California Democrat who is chairman of the Education Committee, now plans to introduce legislation next week that would rely on direct government lending to replace the federally subsidized loans made by private banks." The plan still faces a lot of congressional opposition, though: Critics say that the new plan would "eliminate competition and create chaos for colleges and students that now use private lenders as they are forced to switch to a fully government-run system."

A big lender to nearly a million American small businesses—CIT Group Inc (CIT)—may file for bankruptcy, the WSJ reports as its lead story. The paper says, "The New York-based lender has been stuck for months in a bureaucratic tangle over government assistance. It received $2.3 billion from the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program in December, after winning approval to become a bank holding company. But CIT has so far been unable to access another federal program, one that helps banks and thrifts sell debt with government guarantees." If the lender does file for bankruptcy, it could be bad news for thousands of small borrowers, from clothing retailers to Dunkin' Donuts franchisees.

Should AIG (AIG) be allowed to pay out $250 million in bonuses over the next nine months? That's what the beleaguered insurer has asked for—and its request is being reviewed by the administration's new compensation czar. According to the Washington Post, "AIG has asked the government to rule on several categories of bonuses. ... These include millions of dollars in payments owed to top corporate executives in coming days, and the troubled insurer has been seeking senior Treasury official Kenneth R. Feinberg's consent in an effort to provide the company with political cover." Plenty of people were peeved earlier this year when the bailed-out company paid out big bonuses, so AIG is approaching the situation with caution to avoid another uprising.

Rosetta Stone (RST), the foreign-language-learning-software company announced yesterday that it has filed a lawsuit against Google (GOOG) for trademark infringement, says the Washington Post. The firm has accused Google of letting other companies use the Rosetta Stone trademark in online ads without asking permission. "Google and its advertisers benefit financially from and trade off the goodwill and reputation of Rosetta Stone without incurring the substantial expense that Rosetta Stone has incurred in building up its popularity, name recognition and brand loyalty," Michael Wu, general counsel of Rosetta Stone, said in a statement.

And, finally, a bit of news that's sure to make your squirm: The New York Times reports today that "after virtually disappearing for decades, bed bugs have made a comeback throughout the nation, with particularly bad infestations in densely populated apartment buildings." Yuck! The banning of DDT has helped the insects to proliferate, so much so that the EPA held a National Bed Bug Summit in April.