福特季度亏损小于预期

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Well, it has been called the healthiest patient in the ICU, Ford Motor, the only of the Big Three US automakers not to take TARP money, at least not yet. It is reporting its first quarter earnings on Friday morning. But what’s even more important beyond those numbers, is what this man, Alan Mulally, the president and CEO of Ford has to say, not only about the future of his company, but of the US auto industry in general.

Let's take a step back and look at what 2008 meant for Ford- a lot of red ink, folks. Take a look here: the losses in 2008 of Ford Motor exceeding 14 billion dollars, the red ink expected to continue into 2009. The first quarter number’s coming out on Friday. We’re expected to see losses of 2.8 billion dollars.

But beyond the numbers, Ford has not taken government aid. Let's take a look at it compared to its peers. Chrysler, and General Motors, currently on the brink, their fate in question, have taken billions upon billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded aid. Ford has not as of yet. We want to know what Alan Mulally has to say about that. Will the company maintain that stance? Or will it have to take government funding?

Ford has also benefited from an increase in confidence, analysts say, in its brand versus its competitors, Chrysler and General Motors. This is a look at US market share over the first three months of this year. As Ford has not taken government money, analysts say that consumer's confidence in the company has increased. That has resulted in increasing sales versus its competitors. Take a look at the beginning of this year, especially recently, Ford's market share, now over 15% in the United States, and that may seem like a small increase from 14 to 15.1%. But when you’re talking about millions of millions of vehicles sold in this country every year. That is significant for the company. We will have Ford's numbers as soon as they come out on Friday morning. We’ll also have a one-on-one interview with Ford's president and CEO on Friday. It'll be right here, on cnn Money.

Vocabulary:

1.       ICU: intensive care unit

2.       TARP: The Troubled Asset Relief Program

3.       red ink: A financial loss in business

4.       in question: 正被讨论, 可怀疑

5.       as of yet: at yet至今

6.       versus: in contrast to or as the alternative of与…相比之下

7.       one-on-one: between only two people