FORD PICKS UP SPEED

摘要

It was a week of surprises from Detroit. Ford on Nov. 2 astonished investors with a $1 billion profit in the third quarter. Analysts had predicted a small loss, but $1 billion in cost cuts and $1.9 billion in price increases turbocharged the bottom line. The next day, General Motors reneged on a September agreement to sell a controlling stake in its money-losing German Opel unit. GM's board never liked the deal, but the German government wouldn't finance any other rescue plan for Opel. When Berlin said in October that it would consider other solutions, GM did a U-turn and will negotiate for $4.5 billion in state funds to help perform a turnaround.