GM's China head resigns

Phil Murtaugh, the top executive at General Motors Corp in China and the man credited with establishing GM's most profitable overseas venture, resigned amid disappointing sales, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation. GM declined comment. In the first two months of 2005, GM Shanghai sales fell 54% compared to the same year-ago period while its Asia-Pacific profits fell US$117m in the fourth quarter of 2004, down $60m from a year ago. GM, which faces a possible downgrade in its credit rating to junk-level status, had pointed to China as one of its bright spots.