Chrysler LLC has slipped into a serious financial crunch just four months after Cerberus Capital Management LP swept in to save the auto maker, the Wall Street Journal reported today. At a meeting earlier this month, CEO Robert Nardelli told employees that the company is headed for a substantial loss this year and is scrambling to sell assets to raise cash. In an interview yesterday, Mr. Nardelli acknowledged making the comment, saying it was intended to “convey a sense of urgency” among employees. Cerberus is often viewed as among the shrewdest of the private-equity groups reshaping America’s industrial landscape. But the Chrysler acquisition is turning into a case study of how deals made during the recently ended boom are going sour.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told shareholders that the Japanese automaker’s board members will forego their bonus pay to take responsibility for poor performance, the Associated Press reported today. In the fiscal year ended March, Tokyo-based Nissan Motor Co. marked its first profit drop in seven years - the first time earnings have slid under the turnaround efforts led by Ghosn. Ghosn said that Nissan had no interest in buying the Jaguar and Land Rover luxury European brands that Ford Motor Co. has expressed interest in selling. Nissan had marked a dramatic turnaround from near bankruptcy under the Brazilian-born Ghosn, who was sent in 1999 by Renault, which owns 44 percent of Nissan. However, its sales have been sliding, and it has slipped into third place in Japan behind Toyota and Honda.
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