$5.8 Billion Loss? Someone Give These Guys a Medal

I’m not expecting too much from the markets this week because the Fed is meeting. We all know that life must stop until the Fed pronounces it’s decision on interest rates. My guess is that the market will wait for the Fed, despite some good earnings posted by companies. That or the market will start to focus on the stinkers. This morning AT&T posted earnings of 63 cents a share easily beating analysts forecasts. But my guess is today’s focus and perhaps rightly so will be on Ford’s loss of 62 cents a share.

Ford posted a total quarterly loss including restructuring costs of $5.8 Billion! How is this possible? I fail to see how companies can post losses of this size and still be allowed to remain as going concerns. But one thin is for sure. You can bet that the top executives at Ford won’t be taking any pay cuts or be losing their bonuses. I’m sure in the boardroom it will be all congratulations on the cuts. Their will be pats on the backs and kudos all around for those execs. And, oh yeah, how ‘bout bonuses and perhaps raises for a job well done. How will they get the money to pay for all this? Perhaps they can ask the workers to take pay cuts? Well the union won’t easily concede to that so my guess is that middle management should bend over and get prepared for some cuts.

I’m hoping that both CLRK and SCUR can show some modest gains through the Fed meeting and into their respective earnings at the end of this week and early next week. We’ll be watching.