Cooler heads prevail after worst week in Wall Street history.
10-13-08:
After a scary week of historic losses, Wall Street and Ford started off today on a welcome up note. Ford stock (F) had plummeted to a historic low of $1.99 per share by last Friday, a stunning 45% loss in value in just five days.
Today the stock closed up at $2.44 as the Dow Jones Index rose in a one day record of 936, restoring a significant piece of last week’s losses. For Ford which started the year off at $6.73 a share, it is still hovering at all time lows, but a positive direction from last week is a good sign that a bottom to the madness may be near.
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Ford was also given plusses today on news that they are considering selling a significant part of their 33% stake in Mazda. The move is purely one to raise cash which could be somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.3 Billion. They are said to be interested in keeping a small stake in the Japanese automaker, but not the controlling interest they have right now.
It would end a partnership that has spanned nearly 30 years as Ford bought their 25% stake in Mazda back in 1979. They had been collaborating on various parts and components dating back to 1969. Ford is said to desire their collaborative efforts going forward, but giving up their controlling interest in the company does allow Mazda more freedom to march to its own drummer. It would be sad to see Ford lose such a partnership that has enabled them to build some really good cars.
Ford however is not commenting officially one way or the other on the news that a Mazda sale is being considered.
