Contract negotiations between General Motors and the United Automobile Workers union resume today after a series of marathon discussions since G.M. was selected as the union's target company on Thursday.

How are the talks going? That depends who you ask.

The New York Times says there were signs Sunday night that the talks were in danger of collapse, with union leaders considering whether to recess the talks with G.M. and seek a new contract with Ford Motor first instead.

The standoff, the Times says, was over guarantees being sought by the U.A.W. for G.M. workers once a huge overhaul is completed.

The Wall Street Journal paints a more optimistic picture, saying the two sides "made significant progress," although economic concessions being sought by G.M. remained a sticking point.

The Detroit News says that the chief obstacle centers on the G.M. proposal for a creation of a union-run, company-funded health-care trust. The trust would allow the company to shift more than $50 billion in retiree health-care obligations off its books.

The News says the two sides are also discussing giving workers cash bonuses to sign off on a contract deal.

Who to believe? Well, no doubt all three reports are accurate. As the Times notes, "the tone and direction of bargaining can change quickly, especially when talks are as complicated as these have proved to be."

Although their four-year-old contract expired on Friday, General Motors' 73,000 hourly workers are expected to return to work today.