GM, Ford, Toyota Back New U.S. Mileage Goals to Head Off Stricter Rules

(Bloomberg) -- Automakers are embracing legislation
in the U.S. House that would raise fuel-economy standards,
abandoning years of resistance because of concerns they might
otherwise be forced to accept even tougher measures.

An industry group representing General Motors Corp., Ford
Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and six other auto companies is
backing a bill that would require a more than one-quarter
increase in average vehicle mileage by 2022. Competing measures
in the House and Senate mandate stricter requirements that would
compel earlier compliance and probably cost the industry more.


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

(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 started 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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PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - July 4

(Reuters) - * Buyout firm KKR & Co. LP [KKR.UL] filed to raise $1.25
billion in an initial public offering, following in the
footsteps of archrival Blackstone Group.




* Detroit's big three auto makers posted weaker June sales
despite fresh incentives, as General Motors Corp. and
Ford Motor Co. continued to slash sales to rental fleets.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s U.S. vehicle sales jumped 10
percent.


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Discounts seen fueling U.S. auto sales in June

(Reuters) - "Sales appear to have picked up nicely in June, following
the lackluster selling rate of the past three months," Lehman
Brothers analyst Brian Johnson said. "This is largely due to a
sizable increase in incentives so far this month, and the
generous new marketing programs."




General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. last
week began offering qualified buyers zero-percent financing for
three years plus additional cash on select vehicles as they
tried to boost sales at the end of the month.


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UAW May Hire Lazard for Health-Care Advice in U.S. Auto Talks, People Say

(Bloomberg) -- The United Auto Workers may hire
investment bank Lazard Ltd. to advise the union on health-care
concessions in contract talks with U.S. automakers, two people
with knowledge of the matter said.

The union told New York-based Lazard to be ready to assist
in negotiations that begin next month with General Motors Corp.,
Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler, said the
people, who asked not to be named because the plans are private.


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Apple IPhone Buzz Takes On `Life of Its Own,' Topping Mustang, Windows 95

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc.'s campaign to build
excitement about its iPhone may be the most successful marketing
effort ever, surpassing the drive to promote Ford Motor Co.'s
1964 Mustang and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 95.

The combination mobile phone and music player has generated
more pre-sale media coverage than any other product, says Al
Ries, chairman of Ries & Ries, an Atlanta marketing strategy
firm. Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at JupiterResearch in New
York, estimates Apple will spend about $100 million on the
introduction, roughly half what Microsoft spent for Windows 95.


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UAW leaders say strike an option in national talks

(Reuters) - The union begins contract talks with General Motors Corp. , Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group, which DaimlerChrysler AG AG is selling this summer.




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Ford says 27,000 workers have left company

(Reuters) - Ford, which last year offered United Auto Workers union employees buyout offers as part of its restructuring, has said 37,000 workers have accepted buyouts.



Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans also said the automaker has about 700 workers in its 'jobs bank' -- a program that guarantees nearly full wages and benefits when the automaker eliminates work or closes factories.


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Fitch changes Fremont's rating review to 'evolving'

(Reuters) - Fremont also said it would sell a minority stake to an
investor group led by former S&L executive Gerald J. Ford.




"The Ford-led minority investment will provide some
additional equity capital and a seasoned management team,"
Fitch said in a statement. Those improvements will help Fremont
face recent challenges and liquidate salable assets, Fitch
said.


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Ford Motor Credit, Dynegy Lead Companies Selling $28.2 Billion of Bonds

(Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Credit Co., the profitable
financing arm of the second-largest U.S. automaker, and power-
plant owner Dynegy Inc. led borrowers in selling $28.2 billion of
bonds this week as yield premiums reached the lowest in 12 weeks.

Sales compare with $30.3 billion in all of last week, and
exceed the 2007 weekly average of $23.8 billion, according to
data compiled by Bloomberg. Ford Motor Co.'s unit issued $1.5
billion of debt as its bonds rallied, and Dynegy sold $1.65
billion of high-yield, high-risk, or junk, securities.


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