STEVE INSKEEP, host: NPR's business news starts with Detroit's bid for a bailout.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: Two of the nation's automakers are reportedly asking the government for billions of dollars to finance a merger. General Motors and Chrysler are both bleeding cash, and a merger between the two has been talked about for the last several weeks. Now industry executives have been in Washington meeting with government officials. They want some money to help make it happen. The cash could come from funds recently authorized by Congress to help carmakers retool their factories, or it could come from the $700 billion bailout fund. And it could even mean the government taking a stake in the car industry.
Two of the nation's automakers reportedly are asking the government for billions of dollars to finance a merger. GM and Chrysler are both bleeding cash, and a last-ditch merger between the two has been discussed for weeks. Industry executives have been meeting with government officials in Washington, D.C. The money could come from funds recently authorized by Congress to help carmakers retool their factories. Or, it could come from the $700 billion bailout fund. It could even mean that the government would take a stake in the car industry.