Monday, November 2, 2009

Ford Posts an Unexpected Profit of $997 Million!!!


The New York Times - By NICK BUNKLEY

The Ford Motor Company on Monday posted a surprise third-quarter profit of $997 million and said it had had its first profitable quarter in North America in more than four years.

The carmaker also said that, at least temporarily, it had stopped rapidly burning through its much-needed cash reserves. It reported positive cash flow of $2.8 billion during the quarter, ending September with $23.8 billion.

Through the first nine months of 2009, Ford, the only Detroit automaker to avoid bankruptcy this year, has had a profit of more than $1.8 billion. Still, it has lost about $1.3 billion when one-time items, like a major debt restructuring, are excluded.

Until now, its goal had been to break even or earn a full-year profit by 2011. On Monday the company said in a statement that it “now expects to be solidly profitable in 2011, excluding special items, with positive operating-related cash flow.” It did not indicate whether a fourth-quarter or full-year profit is expected this year, nor did it provide an outlook for 2010, citing continued economic uncertainty.

“We’re just not sure, mainly about the strength of the recovery,” Ford’s chief executive, Alan R. Mulally, said on a conference call with analysts and reporters. “Clearly we’re on a path and following our plan for solid profitability in 2011.”

The company’s earnings of $357 million in North America broke a streak of 17 consecutive quarterly losses there. That figure represents a $3 billion improvement from the same period a year ago, despite considerably lower sales across the industry.

Ford was helped by the government’s so-called cash-for-clunkers program, which lifted new-vehicle sales in July and August, but executives attributed most of the upturn to cost cuts and higher net pricing.

Shares of Ford stock were up 8.4 percent in morning trading. The firm Fitch Ratings raised its outlook for Ford to positive from stable after the company’s earnings report was released.

“We are very pleased with the progress we have achieved so far this year, and we have increased confidence in our ability to deliver on our plan,” Mr. Mulally said. “Ford faces significant challenges ahead, but we remain confident that we have the right plan and are taking the right actions to transform Ford into a lean company that delivers profitable growth for all of its stakeholders.”

The company posted an after-tax operational profit of $873 million, or 26 cents a share, beating even the most optimistic of forecasts by Wall Street analysts. Its overall profit is equal to 29 cents a share.

The profit occurred even as third-quarter revenue fell 3 percent, to $30.9 billion. The company said it now expected to reduce its annual structural costs by $5 billion this year, $1 billion more than its original target.

The United Automobile Workers union is expected to announce on Monday that its members soundly rejected a deal to help Ford further cut its labor costs. The deal would have generally matched concessions that workers at Chrysler and General Motors approved in the spring.

Ford workers ratified a deal in March that saves the company an estimated $500 million a year, but this time many expressed anger at being asked to make more sacrifices at a time when the company’s finances and market share are improving.

But Ford easily won approval of a separate deal from its 7,000 union workers in Canada over the weekend. The Canadian Automobile Workers union said 83 percent voted in favor of that deal, which freezes wages until 2012 and allows Ford to close its 41-year-old assembly plant in St. Thomas, Ontario.

The U.A.W. deal would have frozen wages for newly hired workers until 2015, combined some job classifications and barred the union from going on strike to demand higher pay or benefits. In rejecting the deal, workers gave up a $1,000 bonus that Ford would have paid them in March.

Many in the U.A.W. undoubtedly were influenced by Ford’s efforts to portray itself as different from G.M. and Chrysler since both those companies borrowed billions of dollars from the federal government and filed for Chapter 11 protection.

Ford has been having more success than its cross-town rivals at attracting customers, and its newest vehicles are winning commendations from sources like the magazine Consumer Reports, which last week declared Ford’s quality to be “as dependable — or better than — some of the industry’s best.”

The company’s sales in the United States are down 22 percent this year through September, the smallest decline among the six largest automakers; the industry is down 27 percent over all.

“We have created a very strong business, and we’re not taking any taxpayer money,” Mr. Mulally said.

As recently as two years ago, Ford was widely regarded as the laggard of the Detroit Three. (That unwelcome distinction is now held by Chrysler, which intends to outline its future plans with its Italian partner, Fiat, on Wednesday.)

Last year, Ford lost $14.6 billion, the most in its history. Mr. Mulally initially joined the leaders of G.M. and Chrysler in pleading with members of Congress to aid their companies, but Ford later decided to forgo emergency loans.

Despite its improvements, Ford remains heavily in debt. It borrowed $23.5 billion in 2006, a move initially viewed as an ominous sign of its future prospects but which turned out to be extremely fortunate after the credit markets collapsed.

Christopher Walken Reads Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face'

You and I may not be able to read Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face,' but that doesn't mean Christopher Walken can't. He read the lyrics this past Friday on BBC1's Jonathan Ross Show. Oh! Oh! Oh! Ooo.

'This Is It' Tops Charts With $101M Worldwide



Sony is extending Michael Jackson farewell performance film beyond its planned two-week run.

"Michael Jackson's This Is It" pulled in $101 million worldwide in its first five days, and distributor Sony is extending the farewell performance film beyond its planned two-week run.

The film was the No. 1 Halloween thriller domestically with a $21.3 million opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Paramount's low-budget horror sensation "Paranormal Activity," slipped to No. 2 with $16.5 million, lifting its total to $84.8 million.

"This Is It" raised its domestic total to $32.5 million. The movie pulled in $68.5 million overseas, including $10.4 million in Japan, $6.3 million in Germany, $5.8 million in France and $3.2 million in China.

"He's just loved everywhere on the planet," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. "It doesn't matter if it's Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, South America. Every continent in the world loved him and his music."

In Great Britain, where Jackson had planned a marathon series of 50 London concerts starting last July, the movie earned $7.6 million.

"This Is It" captures Jackson in behind-the-scenes performances in the weeks before his death last June, as he rehearsed his biggest hits for the London shows.

"This Is It" originally was scheduled for a theatrical run of only two weeks. The studio has extended it a few more weeks domestically, leaving it in theaters through Thanksgiving weekend, one of the year's busiest moviegoing times.

Sony plans to extend the run of "This Is It" overseas on a country-by-country basis, with most territories probably getting one to three weeks of extra playing time, Bruer said.

The studio paid $60 million for film rights to Jackson's rehearsal footage, an investment the movie recouped in days.

"They bet $60 million on this and got $101 million in just five days," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "It was a gamble and a bet that paid off."

The movie fell far short of last year's $31.1 million opening weekend domestically for "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert." But Bruer said "This Is It" has a shot at surpassing the $65.3 million domestic total during the entire run of Cyrus' movie, which tops the all-time charts for music documentaries.

Worldwide, "This Is It" already has shot past Cyrus' concert film. Cyrus mainly appeals to American teens, and her movie got only a limited release overseas, where it took in about $5 million to give the film a global total of just over $70 million.

"This Is It" played in 3,481 theaters domestically, about five times the number for Cyrus' movie. But "Best of Both Worlds" ran in 3-D, for which theaters typically charge a few dollars more.

And Cyrus' young fans are an audience segment that tends to rush out to see movies over opening weekend, the movie doing nearly half its business in the first few days.

Sony hopes for a longer shelf life for "This Is It," which drew older crowds that catch movies on their own schedule, with less regard for the opening-weekend frenzy. Fans older than 25 accounted for 62 percent of the audience, according to Sony.
While "Paranormal Activity" led Halloween's scary movies, an established horror franchise lost its fear factor as Lionsgate's "Saw VI" fell sharply in its second weekend after an anemic debut.

"Saw VI" came in at No. 5 this weekend with $5.6 million, raising its total to just $22.8 million after 10 days. Previous sequels in the serial-killer series all had topped $30 million during opening weekend alone.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com; final figures will be released Monday:

1. "Michael Jackson's This Is It," $21.3 million.
2. "Paranormal Activity," $16.5 million.
3. "Law Abiding Citizen," $7.3 million.
4. "Couples Retreat," $6.1 million.
5. "Saw VI," $5.6 million.
6. "Where the Wild Things Are," $5.1 million.
7. "The Stepfather," $3.4 million.
8. "Astro Boy," $3.04 million.
9. "Amelia," $3 million.
10. "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant," $2.8 million.

Just How Risky Are Public Wi-Fi Hotspots?



Ever wonder how safe all your personal information is when it's beamed through the air over Wi-Fi ? If you haven't, then chances are, you haven't taken the right precautions to keep that information safe, either. In clear, easy-to-understand language, the 'Today Show' recently examined the security of Wi-Fi networks. While the video above is a little on the fear-mongering side, it does make some good points about the vulnerability of wireless traffic, in particular, those public hot-spots at your local coffee shop, park, or airport.

Here's what you need to know: Public hot-spots are -- especially those that are open and don't require a password -- are, by design, insecure. Sure, they may be easy and convenient to hop on from your computer, but that very openness is also what allows anyone, particularly hacking criminals, to just walk in and sign on. In other words, when you're signed on to a public Wi-Fi hotspot (or at an unsecured hotspot at your or someone's private home), it's entirely possible for someone to come along and snatch your data, literally out of the air.

Luckily, there are some essential precautions you can take to protect yourself when you're in a public hotspot. First and foremost, get a good firewall program -- not the one built into Windows or Macs, though. Most security suites from Norton, McAfee, and others come with one, and you can download free ones from the likes of Zone Alarm and Comodo. These apps are designed to prevent hackers from gaining access to the data on your PC, and will block and alert you to any attempts to wirelessly access your computer.


However, these programs do not protect what you send out over the air (like passwords) when trying to get access to your bank account online or credit card information when making online purchases. The biggest piece of advice we can give is not to make any transactions involving a credit card at a public Wi-Fi spot, and don't log into any service that doesn't use https to secure any data traffic. You can easily identify such sites by looking at the address bar in your browser, since they'll begin with "https" instead of just "http," and they encrypt all information being passed back and forth. Even most e-mail services such as Gmail offer this as an option -- just check the settings panel.

At home, securing your info is easier, but requires more steps. First, make sure you have a good wireless router that has a built-in firewall (most new ones including those handed out by ISPs do) and supports the latest security protocols -- WPA2. There are three methods of protecting your data on Wi-Fi, WEP (easily hacked, but still better than nothing), WPA (better), and WPA2 (best). Most modern routers support WPA2 and you should use it, with the highest level of encryption possible (256-bit).

If your router only supports WEP -- as many older ones do -- then get a new router, seriously. An additional measure is to turn off the SSID (or network name) broadcast in your router's settings. This will prevent other computers and devices from seeing your network automatically, though dedicated hackers will still be able to locate it. Also, change the default password on your router to something long and complex -- avoid dictionary words and mix letters, numbers and special characters to prevent anyone from easily guessing the password (for more tips on choosing a secure password, see '5 Tips on Keeping Your PC Safe').

The 'Today Show' makes a big deal of wardriving, an old trend in which hackers drive around neighborhoods looking for open Wi-Fi networks to steal data from. But the practice is far less prevalent than the show's reporters would have you believe. And if you follow our suggestions, such data thieves will likely pass your network by in favor of a less secure one that will make a much easier target.

Safe surfing!