Wall Street Holds to Gains

"The biggest thing that pops out at you is the cash burn," said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies. "I think we're really at the 11th hour here." He said GM may only have until next summer to reinvent itself and avoid bankruptcy.

Staying with autos, Bloomberg reported that GM, Ford and Chrysler are looking to get $50 billion in loans from the government to cover health care spending and general liquidity. Such aid would come on top of $25 billion loan passed by Congress in September.

Back in earnings news, entertainment giant Disney (DIS Quote) reported decreased earnings, in part because of a charge related to debt owed by bankrupt brokerage Lehman Brothers. Fellow entertainment firm Discovery Communications (DISCA Quote) beat Wall Street estimates on both the top and bottom lines, and offered in-line guidance for its fiscal 2008 revenue.

Construction management firm Fluor (FLR Quote) reported a large rise in third-quarter income.

Meanwhile, communication equipment manufacturer Qualcomm (QCOM Quote) announced falling profit and lowered its forward outlook.

Telecom firm Sprint Nextel (S Quote) swung to a third-quarter loss but announced it renegotiated terms of a credit facility and cut its debt levels.

Beyond earnings, Microsoft (MSFT Quote) CEO Steve Ballmer said that his company doesn't intend to work out a merger deal with Yahoo! (YHOO Quote), according to a report by Bloomberg.

Elsewhere on the merger front, Panasonic (PC Quote) and Sanyo Electric announced they were discussing a potential deal.

Looking at the financials, The Wall Street Journal reported that troubled insurance giant AIG (AIG Quote) was working with federal officials to potentially alter the terms of an $85 billion loan the government gave to AIG.