Here is some background for Brian White's liveblogging of Ford's (NYSE: F) second quarter earning results:

Ford surprised the market by announcing black ink for the second quarter of 2007, with net income of $750 million, or $0.31 EPS on $44 billion revenue, which was a 6% increase over 2006 2nd quarter.

Unfortunately the increase in revenue was primarily due to currency exchange, mix and net pricing improvements -- sales volume actually was lower than 2006. The profit was due in part to cost reductions of $600 million, including the elimination of 6,400 jobs.

Backing out special items, mostly the sale of Aston Martin and deferred gains on certain hedges at Jaguar and Land Rover, and profits finished at $258 million, or $0.13 EPS. The paltry earnings won't do much to excite a market convinced that the company has taken only the first few initial steps in their climb back to economic viability.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) actually made money in the second quarter, shocking Wall Street which had expected a loss. The automaker also confirmed media reports that may sell its Jaguar and Land Rover businesses.

The company made $750 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with a loss of $317 million, or 17 cents, a year earlier, its first profitable quarter in more than two years. Revenue rose 6% to $44.2 million. Wall Street had expected Ford to lose 35 cents on revenue of $37.5 billion. Click here for the earnings release, here for the Wall Street Journal story, and here for the Bloomberg News story.

It is an odd company that says its turnaround is "on track" when market share in its home company and largest market is falling like a rock. But, so say Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) management.

"The closures and the employment reductions to size the capacity to the real demand -- we're a little bit ahead," Ford's CEO told reporters. "But generally (we're) on plan."

Ford has a couple of other cards in the hole. It will probably improve its balance sheet by several billion if it can sell its Jaguar and Land Rover units. And, upcoming UAW contract negotiations may give Ford the chance to beg off pension and benefits cost cuts. But, the point will come when Ford's recovery is measured by a need to spend more money to help improve production for rising sales.

But, a turnaround is not a turnaround without some stability in revenue, and Ford has been unable to show that. Its most profitable vehicles are its SUVs and pick-ups, and the sales of those are running down by double digits most months.

Measuring progress by cost cutting is generally a Faustian bargain. The Devil eventually comes for the whole company.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

• The Wall Street Journal reported that Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is looking for buyers for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands, which are valued at a combined $1.3B to $1.5B, but any sale is expected to take a month or longer.
• Airbus is in the final stages of a deal with U.S. Airways Group Inc (NYSE: LCC), which is expected to purchase about 30 A350 jetliners worth about $7B at list price, according to the Wall Street Journal.

• According to the U.K. Times, Imperial Chemical Industries plc (NYSE: ICI) rejected an all-cash offer of GBP$7.2B from Dutch chemicals giant Akzo Nobel NV (NASDAQ: AKZOY), saying the proposal "significantly undervalues" the company; sources believe The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) and Germany's BASF AG (NYSE: BF) could launch competing bids.
• BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE: BHP) is again interested in a $40B acquisition of Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA), an aluminum producer, reported the U.K. Times.
• The New York Times reported that negotiations on a buyout of Cadence Design System Inc (NASDAQ: CDNS) by private equity firms Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts appear to have stalled over price.

Cerberus, the hedge fund that is buying a majority interest in Chrysler, is reportedly looking at Ford (NYSE: F) properties Jaguar and Land Rover. Combined with Chrysler, the fund would have assets in the luxury and mainstream car markets along with SUVs and pick-ups.

But the financial firm would be gambling that US demand for cars will pick up briskly over the next few years. Range Rover and Jaguar rely on the US. for a large portion of their sales, and the market here is predicted to be no better than flat this year.

The financial risk is also significant. Chrysler is losing money and Jaguar's loss may be over $1 billion, according to some industry experts.

This means that unlike GM (NYSE: GM) which is doing well overseas, especially in China, and Ford which makes money in South America and Europe, the rolled-up car companies that Cerberus is looking at could all be losers.

That makes digging out of the hole pretty tough.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

A number of people on Wall Street believe that Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) needs to sell off some of its non-core businesses. Some investors speculated that Jaguar would go first. Analyst estimates showed that the unit lost money in 2005.

However, it appears that Aston Martin will be the first unit out the door. According to media reports [subscription required], motor racing executive David Richards will lead a group that will pay $859.5 million for the small car company.

The sale still leaves Jaguar, Volvo and Land Rover in the house. Why Ford would want to own them is a mystery.

According to Ford's own figures, Jaguar's U.S. sales fell 21% in the first two months of 2007 to 2,581 units. It makes very little sense for a car company the size of Ford to bother with Jaguar. After all, Ford which sold almost 378,000 cars in the same market during that same period. Land Rover's sales were down 9% to 6,539 for that period.

No matter how high the margins are on these vehicles, there is no way that management can justify spending any resources on them given their small contribution.

Ford's problems appear to be getting deeper. Domestic sales fell 16% for January and February. If the company does not part with its other small car units it is making the mistake of not showing that it can focus on the businesses that matter.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

I've owned quite a number of cars made by the Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) over time and they've all been good ones. I had a 1968 Galaxy which was as beautiful as it was a joy to drive. I've had several F-150's and there wasn't a loser in the bunch. My wife had an Escort which gave us a quarter million miles. If we had put new tires and front wheel bearings on it, I think we would have gotten another 50 thousand good miles from it, possibly more. It was a good, stout little ride. My wife still misses that car.

The reason I'm writing about Ford is to address a simple question. Why has Ford stock taken such a sound thrashing over the last two years? In 2004, Ford stock was happily playing around in the range of $12 to $16 a share. In 2005, a steady decline began. Ford shares had started '05 just in range of $14 but ended the year near a miserable $8 a share. The picture has not improved for 2006. After dipping as low as $6.06 this year, a bit of recovery has occurred, however unsatisfactory. Ford shares have nipped at $9.50 within the last 52 weeks but they rest at an uncomfortable $8.18 at the end of yesterday's trading. I've looked and searched and asked around. No one has provided a truly solid answer to my simple question of why Ford shares been beaten down so badly.

If no one can provide me sound reason why Ford stock is performing so poorly, then there's only one thing I can do. I must paint you a picture of why Ford's stock deserves better treatment, so here it is from me to you.