Stock Preacher

On Monday Ford offered a glimmer of light a auto manufacturing in irons by reporting that it had made a US$1B profit in Q-3. The car maker also reported its North American arm returning to profitability after four-and-a-half years and raised its official view on its outlook, saying it was on course to be “solidly profitable” by 2011. Ford, the only one of the USA’s Big 3 auto makers to avoid bankruptcy this year, was aided by cost cutting, increased market share and the US government sponsored incentives such as the “cash for clunkers” program. Ford’s net income in Q-3 was US$997M, or 29 cents per share, compared with a net loss of US$161M, or 7 cents per share, in the same period Y 2008. Savvy market observers expected on average that Ford would post a loss of 13 cents per share. Read more

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The revival of markets for bonds backed by auto and credit card debts is expected to be underscored today when the US Federal Reserve reveals details of its latest loans to investors in asset-backed securities. The Fed offers cheap funding every month to investors in such bonds under its term asset-backed securities loan facility (Talf), an emergency measure meant to support the markets through which hundreds of billions of dollars in consumer loans are financed. This month, Fed funding will be available for investors considering buying US$12B in eligible asset-backed securities sold by the likes of American Express, Bank of America, General Electric, Nissan and Ford. Read more

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