U.S. Stock-Index Futures Rise; Ford, Merrill Lynch Shares Gain in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures climbed as
investors speculated last week's losses may have been
exaggerated.

Ford Motor Co. advanced in Europe after the London Times
reported that Jacques Nasser, the company's former chief
executive officer, may visit the Land Rover and Jaguar factories
in the U.K. as part of an attempt to buy the brands. Merrill
Lynch & Co. gained after UBS AG recommended buying shares of the
third-largest U.S. securities firm.


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Ford aims to sell Land Rover, Jaguar by Sept.30-NYT

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 3 - Ford Motor Co is hoping to have a tentative deal to sell its Land Rover and Jaguar operations by Sept. 30, and a pact to dispose of Volvo by year end, The New York Times reported on its Web site on Friday.



The auto maker's advisers have begun putting together information that bidders want for Land Rover and Jaguar, the paper said, citing unnamed sources.


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UPDATE 1-India's Tata Motors Q1 net up 22 pct

(Reuters) - MUMBAI, July 31 - India Tata Motors Ltd.
, reported a 22 percent rise in quarterly standalone
net profit, as foreign exchange gains, cost-cutting and strong
sales of light trucks and passenger vehicles helped offset high
input costs.




Managing Director Ravi Kant did not comment on whether the
New York-listed company , India's largest vehicle maker,
was bidding for Ford Motor's Jaguar and Land Rover
brands.


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Ford seen posting eighth straight quarterly loss

(Reuters) - Ford, which lost $12.6 billion last year and another $282 million during the first quarter, is in the midst of executing a cost-cutting plan that will reduce jobs by nearly 40,000 through buyouts and plant closings.




About 27,000 of the automaker's union workers who accepted buyouts have already the left the company.


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Court to hear arguments in "light" smokes case

(Reuters) - The defendants in the case include Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA unit; Reynolds American Inc.'s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; Loews Corp.'s Lorillard Tobacco unit; Vector Group Ltd.'s Liggett Group; and British American Tobacco Plc's British American Tobacco Ltd.




The appellate court's decision, although not expected on Tuesday, would help shape how far the case is ultimately allowed to go, said Benjamin Zipursky, professor at Fordham University School of Law.


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Ford offers premium to holders of convertible debt

(Reuters) - "Assuming 100 percent of the outstanding Trust Preferred
Securities are validly tendered and accepted for conversion,
the debt conversion pretax expense is estimated to be $1.47
billion," Ford said in the filing.




The estimate is based on the June 29, 2007, market price of
Ford common stock of $9.42, according to the automaker.


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Bear Stearns Meets Possums in Georgia as Foreclosures Rise on Housing Bust

(Bloomberg) -- Only the possums are enjoying the
backyard of 2035 Lilac Lane in Decatur, Georgia, where Wall
Street titan Bear Stearns Cos. is just another homeowner by
default.

``It's a mess,'' said Kiwanna Ford, 31, who grew up next
door to the vacant brick ranch-style house four miles south of
the DeKalb County Courthouse. Bear Stearns seized the property
three months ago after Ford's neighbor stopped making payments on
his mortgage. ``If we wanted to sell our house right now with
that next door, it would hurt,'' she said.


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Ford says ahead of turnaround plan targets

(Reuters) - Ford, which lost $12.6 billion last year, still faces economic "headwinds," including the slump in the U.S. housing market and higher gasoline prices, Fields said.




Overall U.S. vehicle sales, which were off about 1 percent from a year earlier through May, were tracking fairly closely to Ford's expectations, Fields said, adding that the automaker had shown "encouraging progress" in stabilizing its retail market share near 13 percent in recent months.


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GM shares rise on Goldman Sachs upgrade

(Reuters) - "GM can make a compelling case to UAW members that material wage and benefit cuts are needed," Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Barry said in a research note. "And we suspect members and retirees are increasingly amenable to such cuts."




Barry also said that the "UAW pattern bargaining implies positive read across for Ford ."


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Ford hires KPMG to eye Jaguar books: report

(Reuters) - "KPMG's main task will be giving a clear picture of Jaguar
and Land Rover's performance as businesses separate from the
influence of Ford," the paper said, adding that the accounting
firm is also understood to have been asked to examine the
companies' pension liabilities.




Officials at Ford and KPMG were not immediately available
for comment.


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Ford knocks down Slovak plant report, eyes Romania

(Reuters) - But Todd Nissen, spokesman for Ford of Europe, told Reuters the story was purely "speculative".




"We cannot confirm anything like that ," he said.


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Michigan's Budget Crisis Puts Job-Starved State at Economic Crossroads

(Bloomberg) -- Michigan, bleeding jobs even as its
Rust Belt neighbors begin to prosper, has an $803 million hole
in this year's state budget that could force layoffs of
government workers and cutbacks for schools and health care
starting June 1.

That's when the state's cash flow will dry up, as it faces
a fiscal crisis rooted in dependence on General Motors Corp.,
Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler unit. The three
carmakers lost a combined $15.3 billion last year. Michigan and
hurricane-ravaged Louisiana were the only two U.S. states to
shed jobs in 2006.


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Fremont sells property loan business for $1.9 billion

(Reuters) - Fremont shares jumped 19.5 percent to $8.50 in premarket trading.




Ford will become the bank's chairman and two other former Golden State executives, Carl Webb and Randy Staff, will be named chief executive and chief financial officer of the bank, respectively.


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