Ford tough, but for how long?
Your payday loan source admires the spirit Ford is showing.
In the aftermath of the recent automobile industry bailout, Nick Bunkley of the New York Times reports that Ford suffered their worst sales year ever in 2008. They lost $14.6 billion, yet they did not take from the federal pot of billions. Ford apparently had “sufficient liquidity to fund its business plan and product investments.” Yet when your debt ($25.8 billion) exceeds your total cash on hand ($24 billion), sufficient liquidity doesn’t spring to mind.
Sure, they may be healthier than GM or Chrysler, but can they wait until 2011 to break even or earn a profit? Not if the economy takes another major nosedive.
CEO Alan Mulally puts his company’s cards on the table: “It’s a very volatile time for all of us. But it’s not our plan at all to access the government’s money.” It was never my plan to use online payday loans when I got into difficult financial situations, but at times I have used them. I don’t regret having done so.
May the hope springs never rust
“We still feel that, with the amount of stimulus that’s going on in the U.S. market, that we’ll see some improvement in the second half of this year,” says the automaker’s CFO, Lewis Booth.
But what if it doesn’t? Does it make sense to continue to rely upon available lines of credit to make it through the first quarter? Perhaps it would be feasible if things weren’t as bad as they are. Yet Ford plans to draw $10.1 billion more from its available credit lines in the quarter.
It certainly hasn’t helped Ford that workers whose jobs had been eliminated were still receiving 72 percent of their pay via the United Automobile Workers union. New terms are currently being negotiated. Finding that compromise – helping struggling ex-employees vs. keeping the company from going belly up – is an awesome challenge. The light at the end of the tunnel is currently nowhere in sight. Your payday loan source imagines that Ford will have to accept federal aid unless President Obama’s stimulus package enacts major change in the short term.
Kudos to Ford!
Times like this, you must learn to lower your pride and accept any help available. The last time an unexpected event left me strapped for money, I decided to take out a $200 payday loan. On my due date I paid the amount of loan I borrowed plus $60 interest. Some may probably see this as a waste of money, but compare that with several $25 overdraft fees, late fees and other penalty charges, I would beg the differ. That’s just something to think about.
I admire Ford’s spirit. The entire time that the Big 3 were talking about needing help, Ford had been saying that they only needed an open line of credit if needed, and I had to admire that.