Kerkorian's next move with GM up in air

0 Comments | USA TODAY, October, 2006 | by Chris Woodyard

LOS ANGELES -- For General Motors, the question now is whether billionaire Kirk Kerkorian will escalate his fight or walk away. With Friday's abrupt resignation of his lieutenant from GM's board, Kerkorian is likely to battle for his ideas from the outside, one analyst says. "It kind of sounds like they are going to make some noise about a proxy fight," says Kevin Tynan, analyst for Argus Research.

For now, Kerkorian isn't dropping hints. Director Jerry York said in his resignation letter that he quit the GM board because of its refusal to become more independent of the automaker's management. He said the move wasn't directly tied to GM CEO Rick Wagoner's rejection last week of a strategic alliance with Nissan and Renault. But Kerkorian, in a regulatory filing Friday through...