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NYSE photo

General Motors executives ring the opening bell at the NYSE on Nov. 18, 2010. CEO Daniel Akerson is standing left of center in the red tie.

The U.S. government has reintroduced General Motors to the capital markets in a carefully orchestrated IPO that has infused it with fresh capital, but most of the risk factors that led to the company's failure the first time are still in place.

In the GM prospectus filed with the SEC on November 3rd prior to its initial public offering (IPO), the very first line reads, "General Motors Company was formed by the United States Department of the Treasury in 2009." So begins a new chapter for an old industrial giant that in recent years