Ford posts surprise profit as economic news heats up

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Ford Motor Co. announced this morning that it will post an operating profit of $997 million in the third quarter, good news for the only major U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy and starting off a big week for the economy and politics.

Ford’s announcement comes as the Obama administration will spend part of today dealing with economic issues. The President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board will meet with the president today and this afternoon the National Economic Council will meet.

This morning, the Commerce Department announced that construction spending climbed 0.8% in September, mainly due to housing and public projects. The public projects were beneficiaries of federal stimulus efforts, a phenomenon similar to last week’s GDP growth.

But the major news was Ford’s unexpected profit, which touched off an early rally in the stock market.
Ford’s announcement is likely to have political ripples as well coming within days of the news that lender CIT Group is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. CIT, which lends to small businesses, received $2.3 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program while Ford was conspicuous in staying away from federal aid.

Whether that bolsters the free market argument pushed by Republicans or not is unclear, but expect the comparison to be made as we head into the U.S. election day.

-- Michael Muskal

Follow on Twitter @LATimesmuskal