BUSINESS BRIEFS
Ford posts worst annual loss in 105-year history
Advertiser News Services
| |||
 |
|
||
DEARBORN, Mich. — After the worst annual loss in its 105-year history, Ford Motor Co. still doesn't plan to seek government aid, but it's borrowing more money and hinting at further restructuring to brace for a tough 2009 and any surprises from the unpredictable economy.
The second-largest U.S.-based automaker yesterday reported a $14.6 billion loss for 2008, beating its old record of $12.6 billion set two years ago.
The company told lenders yesterday that it wants to borrow the remaining $10.1 billion of its secured credit line. The money is to arrive Tuesday, but Ford executives said they don't plan to use it for operating expenses.
"We took this action because of our concerns about the growing instability of the capital markets," Chief Executive Alan Mulally said on a conference call with reporters and industry analysts.
"The worldwide economic slowdown, driven by tight credit markets and weak consumer confidence, has shaken the foundation of even the strongest companies in the automotive sector and other industries."
Ford lost $5.9 billion in the fourth quarter, but more importantly it spent $5.5 billion more than it took in, dropping its cash reserves to $13.4 billion at year's end.
The company, like other automakers, predicted a slow start to the year with a small recovery in the second half aided by government stimulus packages.
JOBLESS BENEFITS GO TO RECORD 4.8M
WASHINGTON — The number of people receiving unemployment benefits has reached the highest level on records that go back more than 40 years, the government said yesterday, and more layoffs are spreading throughout the economy.The Labor Department said the number of Americans continuing to claim unemployment insurance for the week ending Jan. 17 was a seasonally adjusted 4.78 million, the highest since records started in 1967.
As a proportion of the workforce, the tally of unemployment benefit recipients is the highest since August 1983.
KODAK LOST $137M IN FOURTH QUARTER
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The digital revolution did away with 40,000 jobs at Eastman Kodak Co. over the past five years.The global recession is reducing the photography icon's ranks still further to around 20,000, a level not seen since the Great Depression. Kodak said yesterday it lost $137 million in the fourth quarter on plunging sales of both digital and film-based photography products. It plans to eliminate 3,500 to 4,500 jobs, or 14 percent to 18 percent of its workforce, in 2009.
Its stock lost nearly 30 percent of its value, sinking $2.08 to end at $4.99, a decadeslong low.
'BEST EVER' HOLIDAY FOR AMAZON.COM
NEW YORK — Amazon.com Inc, said yesterday its fourth-quarter profit rose 9 percent, sending its shares soaring 13 percent in extended trading.Amazon had called the holiday season its "best ever," and the earnings report suggested the online retailer is not being seriously hurt by cutbacks in consumer spending. Amazon's shares rose $6.39, or 12.8 percent, to $56.39 in after-hours trading. The stock had fallen 36 cents to finish regular trading at $50.
