Quote from kinggyppo:
can someone explain this to my simple mind. The former shares are worthless correct, but the new shares are worth 35.65 or so?
yes. companies do this all the time, usually through off-book accounting to shell corporations.(read: subsidiaries, JVs, etc.) The only difference here is that GM did it on the front-page of the newspaper. I don't understand why people are surprised that this happened the way it did, it's what legal entities are for.