Ford aims to sell Land Rover, Jaguar by Sept.30-NYT

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 3 - Ford Motor Co is hoping to have a tentative deal to sell its Land Rover and Jaguar operations by Sept. 30, and a pact to dispose of Volvo by year end, The New York Times reported on its Web site on Friday.



The auto maker's advisers have begun putting together information that bidders want for Land Rover and Jaguar, the paper said, citing unnamed sources.


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Ford aims to sell Land Rover, Jaguar by September 30: report

(Reuters) - A Ford spokesman called the report "speculation" and would not comment further.




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Ford shares up on forecasts for faster turnaround

(Reuters) - Johnson is now forecasting a narrower 2007 loss for Ford of 62 cents per share from his earlier estimate of a loss of $1.77. He expects Ford to lose 23 cents a share in 2008.




Ford on Thursday posted a profit of $750 million, its first in two years, on improved auto business and cost-cutting in its troubled U.S. operations.


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Ford swings to surprising 2nd-quarter profit

(Reuters) - DETROIT, July 26 - Ford Motor Co on Thursday swung to a surprise second-quarter profit after seven quarters of losses on cost-cutting and a turnaround in its core automotive operations, pushing shares higher.



Ford, which is in the midst of a restructuring plan that includes closing 16 plants and cutting up to 45,000 jobs, posted a net profit of $750 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with a loss of $317 million, or 17 cents, a year earlier.


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Ford swings to surprise profit

(Reuters) - Ford, which is in the midst of a restructuring plan that includes closing 16 plants and cutting up to 45,000 jobs, posted a net profit of $750 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with a loss of $317 million, or 17 cents, a year earlier.




Profit from continuing operations, excluding one-time items, was 13 cents per share. That blew past the average Wall Street forecast of a loss of 37 cents per share as tracked by Reuters Estimates.


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Ford says expects to clinch competitive UAW deal

(Reuters) - "We do expect to get a resolution for our issues," Laymon said.




Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger shook hands at the automaker's headquarters on Monday afternoon in a ceremony to mark the start of talks.


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UAW says has already made concessions to Ford

(Reuters) - "It's fair to say we have given a lot," Gettelfinger told reporters, speaking at Ford's headquarters after the union and the struggling No. 2 U.S. automaker began talks on a new contract to replace a four-year deal expiring on Sept. 14.



Gettelfinger referred to the union's agreement to a recent buyout program for Ford factory workers and a 2005 deal that allowed the company to cut its costs for retiree health care.


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UAW's Gettelfinger Stuck Between Reuther's Legacy, `Crashing' Car Industr

(Bloomberg) -- Ron Gettelfinger, chief of the United
Auto Workers, will sit at the bargaining table with the Big
Three automakers while holding one of the weakest hands in the
72-year-old union's history. He'll also have the shadow of union
icon Walter Reuther looming over him.

Gettelfinger starts negotiating today with companies that
lost a combined $15 billion last year -- a far cry from the era
when Reuther won health insurance and pensions for the rank-and-
file during two decades running the UAW until his death in 1970.
General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler now are
looking to roll back those so-called legacy costs, which include
retiree health-care liabilities of $114 billion.


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U.S. Stock-Index Futures Are Little Changed; Schwab Falls, Motorola Gains

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures were
little changed before companies including Charles Schwab Corp.,
the biggest discount brokerage, report earnings today.

Schwab fell in Germany, while toymaker Mattel shares
didn't trade in Europe after the company posted earnings that
met analysts' estimates. Motorola Inc. gained after Deutsche
Bank AG recommended buying shares of the world's No. 2 maker of
mobile phones. Ford Motor Co. also climbed. Newspapers
including the Sunday Times reported that the second-biggest
U.S. automaker may sell its profitable Volvo Car Corp.
business.


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Ford considers selling Volvo Cars business: source

(Reuters) - The review of Volvo was still at a very early stage and may not result in a sale, the source told Reuters, adding that Ford had so far not hired financial advisers for the operation.




"Ford is not in discussions with any company to sell Volvo, however we are continuing to assess options for all our operations," a London-based spokesman for Ford said, while declining to comment further.


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Jaguar, Land Rover interest seen limited -sources

(Reuters) - Among the suitors who have been sent informal information by
the U.S. car company's advisers are buyout firms Cerberus,
Ripplewood and One Equity, said one of the sources.




However, unsuccessful bidders for Aston Martin including
Syrian-born tycoon Simon Halabi and UK buyout firm Doughty
Hanson have no plans to express interest in Jaguar and Land
Rover when initial indications of value are due to Ford on July
19, the sources said.


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UPDATE 1-Material Sciences posts quarterly loss; shares fall

(Reuters) - Chief Executive Clifford Nastas said he expects the
slowdown in the U.S. auto market to continue through the year.




Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler, which account for
about 45 percent of Material Sciences' sales, have been seeing
lower U.S. sales on high gas prices and a weak housing market.


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Ford submits sole bid for Romania's Daewoo Craiova

(Reuters) - Romania wants to sell a 72.4 percent stake in Daewoo Automobile Craiova. Earlier this year, Romania said it had received letters of intent from General Motors Corp. and Russian Machines, as well as Ford.




The government has previously wanted to sell 95 percent of Daewoo, by adding a 22 percent stake owned by investment company SIF Oltenia to the tender, but AVAS told Reuters the company has withdrawn from the sale.


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Sales slide for Ford, Chrysler; Nissan jumps

(Reuters) - Ford's overall monthly sales, including sales into commercial fleets, were down 8 percent, although the No. 2 U.S. automaker eked out its first monthly gain in showroom sales since October.




Sales for Chrysler Group were down 1 percent in one of its last months in operation as a unit of DaimlerChrysler AG . Chrysler is being taken private by Cerberus Capital Management in a $7.4 billion deal expected to close as early as this month.


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Ford U.S. sales fall 8.1 pct in June

(Reuters) - Ford said car sales fell 24.6 percent while truck sales rose 2.9 percent.




Results for Ford -- which had sought to curb its lower-margin fleet sales to car rental companies -- include its import brands and some medium- and heavy-duty trucks and are not adjusted for an extra selling day in June 2007.


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Ford shares slide after debt plan

(Reuters) - Ford shares were down 34 cents to $9.30 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange after reaching a session low of $9.26.




The stock had gained 13 percent in the last four weeks.


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