Archive for April, 2008

Ford shows $100M Profit!

Thursday, April 24th, 2008

http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/24/news/companies/earns_ford.ap/index.htm?cnn=yes

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford Motor Co. surprised Wall Street on Thursday with a $100 million profit in the first quarter as strong results from Europe and South America helped offset the impact of a slumping U.S. economy that cut car and truck sales in its main market.

The company also said Thursday its latest round of early retirement and buyout offers netted 4,200 hourly workers, fewer than Ford had targeted.

Ford says it earned 5 cents per share in the January-March period. The No. 2 U.S.-based automaker lost $282 million, or 15 cents a share, in the same period last year.

Excluding special items, the company said it made $525 million after taxes, or 20 cents per share. That beat Wall Street’s expectations. Thirteen analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had predicted a loss of 16 cents per share.

It was Ford’s first profitable quarter since the second quarter of 2007 when it made $750 million. Ford reported a full-year loss of $2.7 billion last year, and it cautioned that the rest of this year will be tough.

“The remainder of 2008 will be a challenge but we are cautiously optimistic despite the external challenges,” CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement. “Our plan is working.”

Ford also lowered its industrywide U.S. vehicle sales forecast for the full year to a range of 15.3 million to 15.6 million. In January it had expected full-year sales of 16 million.

The profit came despite a $45 million pretax loss in Ford’s core North American automotive market. That was an improvement over a $613 million loss in the year-ago quarter, driven by $1.2 billion in cost reductions.

Company spokesman Mark Truby said Ford may offer additional buyout and early retirement packages on a plant-by-plant basis to further reduce its blue-collar work force.

Ford (F, Fortune 500) reported first quarter revenue of $39.4 billion, down from $43 billion a year ago due to the sale of its Jaguar-Land Rover and Aston Martin units. Excluding the sale, revenue would have been up slightly, the company said. To top of page

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Forbes list top gas guzzlers

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

Taken from www.ClickOnDetroit.com
What autos are the least fuel efficient? It turns out that the cars that’ll take a bite out of your budget for fuel costs are also likely to catch some stares of admiration as they’re tearing up the road. And those family-focused haulers can also take a chunk out of our income if you find yourself behind the wheel often.Forbes.com has compiled a list of the least fuel efficient autos, based on data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.If you park a Jeep Grand Cherokee in your garage, you probably spend quite a bit at the local gas station. The V8 version of this auto gets a mere 11 miles per gallon on city streets and only 14 miles per gallon while on the highway.

Many people work full time as they get the business off and running, said Tom Harbison, deputy district director of the Small Business Administration in Iowa.

“There is a good deal of security that comes with keeping your job,” he said.

About 200,000 of the more than 260,000 small businesses in Iowa have sole proprietors, and it makes sense for many keep their day jobs, Harbinson said.

Four in 10 young people said they would like to start their own business someday, according to a poll by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City, Mo., nonprofit group that fosters entrepreneurship.

And 37 percent of the young people surveyed believe starting their own business is a possibility.

Steady income and medical benefits, however, remain top barriers for starting a small business. Regular, full-time employment can mitigate those issues.

Telling your boss about your new venture is a decision facing each business owner. Harbison advises finding out whether your employer has a policy about this, and consider whether there is a conflict of interest.

“Doug knows that I have this business to run,” Mayfield said of the owner of American Dream Machines, which buys and sells classic cars. “He knows I have my life tied up into it. My money is on the line for it, and he appreciates that, because he is in the same boat.”

The flexibility and understanding of co-workers “is kind of huge,” Mayfield said. “They want to see this work for me.”

Working while starting a business also allows the business owner to start small and grow slowly, Harbison said. This can be a benefit for the business and business owner.

“I like taking small steps - thinking it through, making the right decision and then executing it,” said Mayfield, who hopes to double Shine’s client base over the next two to three years and expand delivery to workers downtown.

The biggest problem of starting a business while holding down a job: Time. “You have to be careful not to overlap,” Harbison said.

Mayfield, a father of three boys, said the amount of time and energy it takes to start a small business was the biggest surprise: “It really consumes your life. It becomes like a fourth child.”

Karen Mracek can be reached at (515) 284-8531 or kmracek@dmreg.com

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