[SAJ]

With respect, what you posted is factually inaccurate. Common share holders are most emphatically not unsecured debt holders. Unsecured debt holders are parties to a contract with the company (any company, not just GM) and have an enforceable claim on company assets under certain circumstances.

Shareholders are not parties to any contract with the company, and have no claim whatever on its assets, per se. The only property in which a shareholder might be a participant is in a proportionate share of a company's positive equity (i.e. assets minus liabilities). If this figure is 0 or lower, the shares are by definition worthless, although market sentiment (as here with GM) might place a positive value on the shares in anticipation of the assets once again exceeding the liabilities at some future date.

[usconservative]

With respect, what you posted is factually inaccurate. Common share holders are most emphatically not unsecured debt holders.

Tell that to all the "market analysts" on Fox, MSNBC, Fox Business News, etc.. as that's the term they've been using for several weeks now.

The only property in which a shareholder might be a participant is in a proportionate share of a company's positive equity (i.e. assets minus liabilities). If this figure is 0 or lower, the shares are by definition worthless, although market sentiment (as here with GM) might place a positive value on the shares in anticipation of the assets once again exceeding the liabilities at some future date.

Incorrect. Once the stock hits ZERO, it is worthless. Once the stock hits ZERO and the company goes through bankruptcy, the stock is worth ZERO and the stockholder has ZERO recourse to retaining or obtaining any future value in that stock issue. By all accounts (again, of the "experts" on the business news networks) the shareholders in GM are about to get completely wiped-out in bankruptcy court. Anyone who purchases GM Stock now is a complete fool.

Say what you will, those are the facts.