General Motors' IPO
GM's initial public offering is set to raise as much as $23.1 billion making it the biggest IPO ever and giving Washington the opportunity to call its bailout of "Government Motors" a success. The shares, which were priced originally around $27.50 each, eventually sold for $33. The interest in the deal partly driven by GM's rebounding fortunes. The company earned $5 billion in the first nine months of the year. If it ends up in the black in 2010, which looks likely, it will be the car company's first annual profit since 2004. Uncle Sam poured nearly $50 billion in GM at the height of the recession to save the car company from liquidation. GM's shares still have to rise to nearly $49, or another 47%, for the government to break even. The IPO, though, puts GM one step closer to getting Washington out of its finances.