President Obama's rescue of the auto industry is a big problem for Republicans

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15. GM reports $1 billion first-quarter profit, beating estimates

GM reports $1 billion first-quarter profit, beating estimates

GM (GM) posted a profit of $1 billion in the first quarter, beating Wall Street expectations on strong demand in its key North American market.

GM also said the U.S. economy was improving and it expected its core North American results in the second and third quarters to largely match the first quarter due to scheduled downtime at its large truck plants.

"We're clearly seeing some improvement in the (U.S.) economy," Chief Financial Officer Dan Ammann told reporters. "It's a modest underlying improvement, but it's patchy and it won't necessarily all go in a straight line."

The quarter included the impact of $800 million in higher vehicle pricing and lower consumer incentives, half of which came in North America. Last year, GM offered heavy consumer incentives to drive sales in the U.S. market, something it did not do this year.

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http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/03/11518519-gm-reports-1-billion-first-quarter-profit-beating-estimates