ford stock

ford stock, Ford got a taste of that Friday. By any measure, Ford has made big improvements since CEO Alan Mulally joined the company in 2006. It also slashed labor and health-care costs, plowing the money back into the design of well-received new products such as the Ford Fusion sedan and Ford Edge crossover.

Ford's U.S. sales jumped 20 percent in 2010, double the rate of the rest of the industry. The Ford brand was the top-selling brand in the U.S. last year, besting Chevrolet and Toyota for the first time since 2003.
Many Mercury buyers will consider Fords, but not all of them. According to Edmunds.com, 37 percent of people trading in a Mercury in December bought a Ford, but 39 percent bought Japanese or Korean brands.
Ford made a peace offering to its 40,600 U.S. factory workers Friday, announcing that they would get $5,000 profit-sharing payments this year. It's the first time Ford has handed out the checks since 1999.
Ford's stock recently hit a five-year high of $18.79 after falling as low as $1.43 in 2008, when the future of Ford and its Detroit rivals was uncertain.
A $960 million charge related to debt reduction was one reason for Ford's weak fourth-quarter results.
Fitch Ratings, unfazed by Ford's earnings miss, raised the company's corporate debt ratings to "BB," or two notches below investment grade.
Bill Selesky, an analyst with Argus Research, remains bullish on Ford.