Never Enough

So, Ford Motor Company reported $6.6 BILLION in net profit for 2010, it's biggest profit in over a decade.

They awarded UAW members with a $5,000 profit-sharing check, two-thirds more than they were obligated to award.

They reduced their debt by $14.5 BILLION; they gained market share for the second year in a row and made money in every region of the U.S.

But, ooo! ooo! They lost $51 million in Europe in the 4th quarter, SO ANALYSTS WERE DISAPPOINTED AND THE STOCK WAS HAMMERED BY 13%!! Could it be the fact that "investors" don't want to see U.S. workers make any gains at all??

Wall Street is SICK! Wall Street greed is out of control! And what are we doing about it? A weak, measly "financial reform" bill that does practically nothing.

Ford made $6.6 billion in 2010, workers get $5,000 profit-sharing checks.

Ford, in reporting its biggest profit in more than a decade Friday, disappointed Wall Street but pleased UAW workers with bonuses averaging $5,000.

The profit-sharing bonus was two-thirds larger than the amount Ford was required to pay under its contract, said UAW President Bob King.

"What's really important for our members to know is they didn't have to do this," King told the Free Press.

With about 20,000 Ford hourly workers living in Michigan, the checks, due in March, will help lift the state's economy.

Ford's stock fell 13.4% on Friday and closed at $16.27 after the company said it made $6.6 billion last year -- its largest profit in more than a decade.

Ford disappointed investors by losing $51 million in Europe in the fourth quarter, and it spent more money than expected launching new models such as the Ford Explorer. Raw material costs also rose.

Still, Ford reduced its debt by $14.5 billion in 2010, gained market share in the U.S. for the second straight year and made money in every region.

"This is the best year we've had since 1999," Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said, adding that Ford should make even more money this year.

After years of plant closures, job cuts and cuts in worker benefits, the profit-sharing checks should also boost morale as Ford enters contract talks with the UAW this year.

"It's great to see the company turning around," said Ron Buchanan of Clawson, who works at Ford's axle plant in Sterling Heights.

Ford falls short of expectations by hitting $1.3B in 4Q earnings

Ford's fourth-quarter profits, reported Friday, were nearly half of what some analysts expected, falling short of Wall Street's expectations for the first time in two years.

Before onetime charges, Ford earned $1.3 billion, or 30 cents per share for the fourth quarter. On average, Wall Street analysts forecast Ford would earn 48 cents per share.

That difference caused analysts to press Ford about its ability to deliver bigger profits for 2011 even after the automaker reported its largest annual profit since 1999.

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