| Ford Posts Strong Financial Data, First Profit Since 2005 TheCarConnection.com submits: The rumors were true: Ford Motor Company (F) has just published financials from the third quarter of 2009, and without being overly optimistic, it's fair to say that the data is moderately rosy. Among several bright spots in the report, one that seems particularly impressive is that July - September of 2009 saw Ford North America's first profit since the first quarter of 2005, four-and-a-half years ago.In addition to Ford's North American pre-tax profit of $357 million, the company recorded a total net income of $997 million during Q3. That's a substantial improvement on the roughly $200 million loss posted one year ago, during Q3 of 2008 (which was, as you recall, about the time that the entire industry began sliding off a cliff). Ford anticipates being fully profitable by calendar year 2011.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Do Toyota's Problems Herald An Era of Recalls? Research Recap submits: We don’t want to add to the already overheated panic over Toyota’s (TM) accelerator and braking problems, but should we expect an increase in recalls across the industry as cars get more complex and dependent on electronics and software? On the heels of Toyota’s accelerator pedal recall and Prius braking issues, “In what could be deemed a broader problem with hybrid cars, Ford Motor Co. (F) said on Thursday it would roll out a software patch for consumers to address similar problems with braking reported on its Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan models.” Ford’s action came after Consumer Reports said one of its test engineers had experienced what appeared to be a loss of braking power with a Fusion hybrid. Ford said it was aware of one minor accident related to the braking problem but no injuries.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Flying High With Latin America's Top Plays Wealth Daily submits:by Sam Hopkins Even though the sun is plenty bright on the East Coast of the U.S. today, I've got my eyes on the tropics. I'm looking at Colombia, specifically. That's where the World Economic Forum for Latin America is going on this week. The theme of this year's meeting: New Partnerships for a Sustainable Recovery.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
On GM's Move Into Subprime Lending Market Blog submits: By David BermanGeneral Motors Co.'s decision to buy AmeriCredit Corp. (ACF) is getting some traction among observers on Thursday. No, it's not the price tag of the deal, at $3.5-billion (U.S.). Nor is it the perplexing move by GM to expand into auto financing so soon after selling its GMAC financial division in 2006.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Rail Traffic Begins to Slow but Still Improved Wall Street Strategies submits:By David SilverSo much of the economic data released over the past few weeks has pointed towards another slowdown in the economy. On Monday morning, the National Bureau of Economic Research, the unofficial scorekeeper for the start and end dates of recessions, determined that the recession which began in December 2007 ended in June 2009. The end seems difficult to agree with as millions of Americans are still without a job and the jobless rate sits at 9.6%. Despite these negative data points, one industry, the railroads, has continued to shrug off this slowdown and post strong numbers. In some cases, the data is approaching the peak levels from back in 2008. Railroads are considered an economic bellwether as they outline the expectations of businesses around the country. If businesses expect improving business conditions, then rail traffic will show an increase. Over the past two recessions, rail traffic signified a resurgence in the economy within an average of approximately eight months. The following chart shows that rail volumes bottomed out in May of 2009 and have been sequentially improving (save the past two months). The previous recessions were not as severe as the past recession, did not last as long, and also saw a more dramatic upswing. Additionally, in previous recessions, rail volumes did not see as significant of a drop.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |