Ford Presents Plan

Ford Motor Company has presented its recovery plan to Congress,along with its peers Chrysler and General Motors.Ford intends to return to profitability by 2011,speeding development of fuel-efficient vehicles such as an electric van and an electric car by 2010.The old line firm will devote 14 billion dollars to advanced technology research,while management will forgo bonuses and CEO Alan Mulally works for one dollar a year.Ford will close two plants by the end of the year and plans to sell its Volvo unit.Although Mr.Mulally says Ford has the near term liquidity it needs,it would like nine billion in bridge financing,in case the financial crisis is protracted.One Nobel laureate,Paul Krugman,thinks the crisis may run until 2011.Before the financial crisis,the U.S. auto industry was gaining strength.Now all automakers worldwide are in difficult straits.

Smiling In The Gloom

While most stocks were plummeting last Thursday,Ford Motor Company was gaining.That is why CEO Alan Mulally was smiling.Ford had just posted its first profit after 7 consecutive quarters of losses.The soft-spoken leader said he wasn't really surprised by the results,and he was cautiously optimistic about reaching a deal with the United Auto Workers union.Although there could be setbacks ahead,by the end of 2009,Ford should be back in the black for good.The automaker is exploring the sale of its Jaguar and Land Rover divisions,and conducting a strategic review of its Volvo unit.Sixteen plants are to be closed,paring 45,000 jobs.The Ford Edge is the best-selling crossover vehicle,and 14 Ford vehicles recently won J.D. Power quality awards.Ford was the most actively traded stock on Monday.This morning,General Motors(GM) also released good second quarter numbers.