Just moved over the wires. Here's CNN's story:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Chrysler LLC is going to file for bankruptcy, an administration official confirmed to CNN Thursday.
The filing comes after some of the company's smaller lenders refused a Treasury Department demand to reduce the amount of money the troubled automaker owed them.
Chrysler officials had no comment on the bankruptcy report. The company faces a Thursday deadline from the Treasury Department to reach deals with creditors who had loaned the company about $7 billion.
But what about the president's news conference? Last night, President Obama said this:
I am actually very hopeful, more hopeful than I was 30 days ago, that we can see a resolution that maintains a viable Chrysler auto company out there.
What we've seen is the unions have made enormous sacrifices on top of sacrifices that they had previously made. You've now seen the major debt holders come up with a set of potential concessions that they can live with.
All of that promises the possibility that you can get a Fiat-Chrysler merger and that you have an ongoing concern. The details have not yet been finalized, so I don't know to jump the gun. But I am feeling more optimistic than I was about the possibilities of that getting done.
The answer is in the timing. CNN reports that talks with creditors were still in process through yesterday afternoon. But they broke down last night when several smaller creditors - including some hedge funds - wouldn't take the deal.
Is this the end of Chrysler? Probably not. But it is the end of Chrysler as a company in control of its own destiny.
UPDATE 10:27 am ET: CNBC says talks with the holdouts have stopped. It's over. (h/t losty) Also from the same article:
Signals about the discussions with Fiat were mixed. The Italian newspaper Corriere Della Serra reported Thursday morning that a deal had been signed, but Fiat later denied this.