GM forecasts flat 2020 profit after a rough 2019; shares gain

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co on Wednesday forecast flat profits for 2020 and reported a better-than-expected fourth quarter result as it kicked off a new effort to win over investors stampeding into shares of electric car rival Tesla Inc .The automaker's shares were up 1.8% in early trading. GM said it expects earnings per share for 2020 in a range from $5.75 to $6.25, excluding one time items, taxes and interest. Analysts are expecting GM to earn $6.23 this year on a comparable basis,..