Distressed debt managers eye up troubled US automotive companies

America's motor giants are staring down the barrel of credit ratings downgrades - much to the glee of distressed debt hedge fund managers

Although December proved a good month for US automotives, the troubles of Ford and General Motors, the sector's biggest companies, have aroused excitement for some distressed debt hedge fund managers.

With debt at the two Detroit giants standing at an estimated combined total of $450bn in a market he puts at no more than $1 trillion, George Konomos, portfolio manager at New York-based Mellon HBV, thinks US autos will be the biggest debt story of 2005.

Konomos says they are barely holding onto