U.S. To Sell GM Stock By Year End

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government expects to sell its remaining General Motors stock by the end of the year.

The Treasury Department says in a statement Thursday that it still owns 31.1 million shares of the auto giant.

It has recovered $38.4 billion of the $49.5 billion it spent bailing out the company.

At Wednesday's closing price of $37.69, the treasury would get an additional $1.2 billion. That means taxpayers will lose roughly $10 billion on the bailout.

The government says the bailout was needed five years ago to save the American auto industry and more than a million jobs.

The government got 912 million shares, or a 61 percent stake in GM, in exchange for the bailout. Treasury gradually has sold off its stake since a November 2010 initial public offering.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.