Treasury gradually unloads GM stock

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury Department said it realized $156.4 million from sales of General Motors stock in January.

The department is expected to unload its approximately 300 million shares on the open market by the end of 2014.

It plans to do so gradually, using a trading plan that has not been made public so that hedge funds cannot corner the market, The Detroit News reported Monday.

In January, it sold about 5.4 million shares for $27.61 to $29.16 per share, the News reported.

The department, at one point, expected to lose $44 billion in bailouts to GM, Chrysler and automotive lender Ally Financial.

That has been gradually reduced. The Treasury Department now expects to lose $14.3 billion on the bailouts that were funded by the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The government still owns 74 percent of Ally Financial. It once owned 61 percent of GM but that has been reduced to less than 19 percent.