General Motors debt protection costs rise on strike

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The cost to insure the debt of General Motors Corp rose on Monday, after initially tightening as members of the United Auto Workers union went on a nationwide strike against the company.

"The strike is certainly not a token strike," as it has had an impact plants nationwide, said Brad Rubin, auto sector specialist at BNP Paribas in New York.

"It certainly is a little bit more of a near-term bearish outlook as a result," he said.

GM's credit default swap spreads widened to around 552 basis points, or $552,000 per year for five years to insure $10 million in debt, after opening at about 507 basis points. GMAC LLC's swap spreads also widened around 33 basis points to 350 basis points.

Ford Motor Co's swap spreads also widened by around 20 basis points to 605 basis points and Ford Motor Credit Co's swaps are about 25 basis points wider at 397 basis points.