Stocks in the news: General Motors, Rio Tinto, PepsiCo

The following post rounds up the companies making headlines today:

General Motors Corp. (GMGMQ) -- A bankruptcy judge has approved Sunday GM's asset sale plan. GM will sell the bulk of its assets to a new government-run company, potentially clearing the way for the automaker to quickly emerge from bankruptcy protection. The sale, the judge said, was in the best interests of both GM and its creditors, whom he said would otherwise get nothing.

Rio Tinto (RTP) has agreed to sell its U.S. food-packaging business -- Alcan Packaging Food Americas division -- to Bemis Co. (BMS) for $1.2 billion in cash and stocks. The move aims to help Rio reduce the massive amount of debt incurred when it purchased Alcan in 2007. RTP shares dropped 6.3 percent in pre-market trade.