Posts Tagged ‘Toyota Recall’

Fed Report : Industrial Production up

Posted by Amita Kalra on March 15th, 2010

The Federal Reserve Statistical Release today posted a net increase of 0.1 percent in the industrial production in February marking an eight monthly increase and beating not just winter storms but also analyst expectations.

The catch however, is the fact that the key sector, the manufacturing sector, which is also the index’s largest component, fell 0.2%; while output at mining companies and utilities increased 2.0% and 0.6%, respectively. The manufacturing sector ebbed probably due to the winter storms which shut down a major part of the Northeast in February. “Production was likely held down somewhat by winter storms in the Northeast,” the Fed said in the release. This had the trickledown effect of reducing working hours, earnings and purchasing power. Also, the slump in auto sector due to the recent recalls at the Toyota Motor Corp. also contributed to the fall. At the same time, the storms increased the demand for energy, which in turn boosted the demand for mining and utility production.

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Ford Posts Whopping $2.7 Billion Earnings

Posted by Amita Kalra on January 28th, 2010

In the wake of the Toyota fiasco, Ford Motors Co (F) is certainly making hay while the sun shines. The American automaker today announced annual earnings of $2.7 billion (86 cents per share), its first profit in the last four years. The quarterly net income soared at $868 million, or 25 cents per share. The company managed to finish way ahead of analyst expectations which predicted it to be in the red. Last year it had recorded dramatic losses to the tune of $14.6 billion.

This is attributed mainly to the aggressive cost cutting and an increased market share. Ford reduced its structural costs by $5.1 billion, far outdoing its goal of $1.1 billion. It also managed to gain market share in North America, South America, and Europe.  It may be reiterated that Ford is the only major U.S. automaker, not to reorganize under a US government-funded bankruptcy despite having debt twice in value to that of General Motors.

What’s more, it is expected that after the Toyota recall, consumer interest in Ford will rise, since it produces several vehicles comparable to the recalled and suspended cars.

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Toyota pushes the brake pedal

Posted by Amita Kalra on January 27th, 2010

In an unexpected turn of events, the world’s largest automaker, Toyota Motor Corporation, halted the sales of its 8 of its most popular models, including Camry, Corolla and the RAV4. Though it had been experiencing fractures in the form of high product recall in the market, this move seems to have broken the backbone of the company that built its customer base based on its core competence – unmatched quality for the customer. Toyota also said it will stop producing the affected vehicles at several North American plants for one week starting Feb. 1.

The models being recalled include 2009-2010 RAV4, 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 Camry, 2010 Highlander, 2007-2010 Tundra, 2008-2010 Sequoia.

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