I haven’t posted business bits in the last few days, trying to take care of a few other things made my time limited, but there are a number of things in the financial world to pass along.

GM to sell Swedish unit Saab to Koenigsegg

Frankly, I’m surprised GM managed to pull off the deal. From a U.S. sales and distribution point of view, Saab’s footprint is insignificant compared to other luxury auto makers. When you look at the company that purchased Saab, however, one can see that any footprint is a good footprint:

Saab Automobile, General Motors Corp.’s struggling Swedish unit known for its family cars, was rescued Tuesday by a consortium led by Koenigsegg Automotive AB, a tiny company which produces only a dozen custom-made super cars a year.

GM said in a memorandum of understanding that the sale would include an expected $600 million funding commitment from the European Investment Bank, guaranteed by the Swedish government. Additional funding for Saab’s operations and investments would be provided by GM and Koenigsegg Group AB, it said.

On a dozen custom-made cars a year? Does a company that only employs 45 people and produces 12 cars each year have the ability to take over a company of 4500 with a global presence? Hmm… Why am I skeptical of this purchase? Oh, and take a look here for some facts on both companies.

Saab only sold 93,295 cars last year.  Ouch.

Two notable bankruptcies

To recreational (for lack of better words) companies filed bankruptcy in the last few days. Six Flags Theme Parks went belly up due to $2 Billion in debt. Also, the Extended Stay hotel chain fell to the crushing $7.6 Billion it had on the books.

Further signs the consumer is hurting

Credit Card default rates hit another record high.

Bank of America—the largest U.S. bank—said its default rate, those loans the company does not expect to be paid back, soared to 12.50 percent in May from 10.47 percent in April.

In addition, American Express, which accounts for nearly a quarter of credit and charge card sales volume in the United States, said its default rate rose to 10.4 percent from 9.90, according to a regulatory filing based on the performance of credit card loans that were securitized.

As unemployment continues to rise, so will the default rate.