ford posts
Posted Jul 10th 2009 10:00AM by Jim Cramer
Filed under: Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Market matters, Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says it's 20 years too late, but at least GM won't take down the auto industry anymore. This new GM, this small GM, the one that doesn't care about share but cares about sales and quality and maintenance, may actually be what we needed about 20 years ago.
We have been worried about
General Motors (OTC:
GMGMQ) (
Cramer's Take) for the last 20 years -- too big, too bloated, worrisome obligations. We still have the last one -- there's a lot of obligation still, much of it borne by us not by "them" -- but the one thing this reorganization will take off the table forever is, "How bad will the inevitable collapse of GM be for the country?" I say that because the one thing that we know after it emerges from bankruptcy Friday is that GM, at last, NO LONGER MATTERS.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: The world's been waiting for the new GM
Posted Jul 6th 2009 9:30AM by Tom Johansmeyer
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Ford Motor (F), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Alcoa Inc (AA), AMR Corp (AMR), S and P 500, Delta Air Lines (DAL)
Quarterly earnings could be up year-over-year by the fourth quarter. A low threshold for improvement, as a result of last year's Q3 financial meltdown, could set the stage for the appearance of a recovery, but the ride from here to there will be a difficult one.
Data from Bloomberg and S&P suggests that profits for stocks comprising the S&P 500 Index may be down 21% next quarter. It's still a double-digit blow, but a better result than Q2's estimated 34% -- and far ahead of Q1's 60% year-over-year fall in profits. The driver of a recovery, however concealed by low expectations, is likely to be a combination of unemployment and consumer spending. Last month, we saw unemployment reach a 26-year high, putting obvious constraints on purchasing.
Continue reading Q2 to be tough on earnings, but some improvement
Posted Jul 2nd 2009 8:00AM by Michael Fowlkes
Filed under: Industry, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Recession
Auto sales continued to drop in June, but we are starting to see signs that sales may be beginning to stabilize a bit.
The auto industry is still in deep trouble. It is going to take a while before things get back to normal, but before things can even start to improve, they have to stop worsening, and that's what may be happening.
Continue reading Auto sales show signs of stability
Posted Jun 23rd 2009 10:30AM by Mark Fightmaster
Filed under: Ford Motor (F), Nissan Motors (NSANY)

The Energy Department is
set to lend money to
Ford (NYSE:
F), Tesla, and
Nissan (NASDAQ:
NSANY), according to the Associated Press. The report cites anonymous sources, with the official announcement set for today in Dearborn, Michigan.
Reportedly, Ford has asked to receive $5 billion in loans by 2011, although the sources were not certain on how much money the automaker would receive. Nissan's requested amount was undisclosed and Tesla has reportedly asked for $450 million. The loan program the automakers are trying to tap into was approved by Congress last year in order to help car companies and suppliers develop green vehicles and components (such as the advanced battery) and help automakers meet the new fuel-efficiency standards of 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
Continue reading Ford, Nissan and Tesla may receive U.S. auto loans
Posted Jun 22nd 2009 10:20AM by Mark Fightmaster
Filed under: Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM)
Former Chrysler CEO
Lee Iacocca has decided to weigh in on the current situation at his former employer, when interviewed by the Associated Press. Iacocca believes that the automaker needs to get the government out of the business as soon as possible, noting that government intervention is "strong motivation to repay the loan early." Iacocca added that the government "oversight is just too extreme." He reminded readers how Chrysler repaid the previous ten year loan from the government in three.
Chrysler and
General Motors (OTC:
GMGMQ) are have both received billions of dollars in government loans. Chrysler has recently exited bankruptcy protection, while GM remains in Chapter 11. The Treasury Department's auto task force has already made its presence felt, forcing out both CEOs and is reshaping their boards.
Continue reading Lee Iacocca suggests Chrysler return the government loan soon
Posted Jun 19th 2009 3:20PM by Steven Mallas
Filed under: Earnings reports, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), AutoNation Inc (AN)
CarMax (NYSE:
KMX), an expert in used automobiles and a colleague of
AutoNation (NYSE:
AN), is up today nearly 14% in early-afternoon trading on spectacular volume. What's driving (pun intended!) the buying action? You guessed it...earnings. Revenues for the first quarter decreased 17%. Adjusting for items, CarMax earned $0.22 per share, and, according to my colleague
Melly Alazraki, that figure simply annihilated earnings projections developed by the analysts.
Well, well, well...what to do now, right? CarMax is an interesting company in an interesting time. It sells used cars during a period when new cars aren't selling too well. We all know about the problems at Ford (NYSE: F) and General Motors (OTC: GMGMQ). But that isn't reason enough to put money down on this stock. Especially not after a rally like we're seeing today.
Continue reading My portfolio won't be test-driving CarMax
Posted Jun 10th 2009 9:20AM by Alex Salkever
Filed under: Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Financial Crisis

Well, you knew it had to happen since Uncle Sam effectively owns Chrysler and General Motors. The U.S. House of Representatives is trying to pass a bill that would mandate the large automakers honor existing franchise agreements and
put off dealer closures. The Dow Jones Newswire article quoted Bailey Wood, a lobbyist for the National Automobile Dealers Association, with the following doozy: "Closing dealerships will not make either Chrysler or GM any more viable, and Congress is realizing that," Wood said.
That the politicians are getting involved in operational decisions is clear evidence of the impending doom for the large auto companies. It's hard enough to exit bankruptcy and restart a business. It's far harder to do so while carrying political agendas on your back.
Continue reading House: Save the auto dealers! Can Ford survive the intervention?
Posted Jun 2nd 2009 5:00PM by Michael Fowlkes
Filed under: Good news, Products and services, Management, Industry, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Marketing and advertising, Market matters, Recession, Financial Crisis

If you compare last month to May 2008, then
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:
F) looks pretty shaky: the American auto maker posted a 24% dip in sales year over year. However, the picture starts to look a lot better once you compare April and May of this year.
All in all, Ford sold 161,197 vehicles last month in the U.S.. Yes, this was 24% off the pace it set last year at this time, but it does mark a pretty impressive 20% jump over its numbers during the previous month, as the company was able to take slight advantage of its competitors' financial woes.
Continue reading Ford sees big drop in May sales, but does pick up market share
Posted May 23rd 2009 10:30AM by Ted Allrich
Filed under: Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Wells Fargo (WFC), Comfort Zone Investing
Banks need it. Home builders need it. Car companies need it. More banks need it. "It" is capital. Also known as equity. In reality, it's money. Banks need lots of it.
As we all know, there is a finite amount of everything. There is only so much money available for investing. The large banks have been at the trough and dipped, pulled out billions (names like Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC). That was over the last few weeks. Stock was issued. Money flowed in. Things looked pretty good.
Continue reading Comfort Zone Investing: The race for capital is on
Posted May 8th 2009 8:00AM by Michael Fowlkes
Filed under: Before the bell, International markets, Earnings reports, Forecasts, Bad news, Products and services, Competitive strategy, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Market matters, Japan, Recession, Financial Crisis
Continue reading Toyota posts first annual loss in 59 years
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