November 19, 2009
By Michael J. Moore Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) — Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer John Mack said he appreciates the increased regulation from the Federal Reserve that’s come after converting to a bank holding company in the midst of the financial crisis. “We have probably 15 to 20 Fed regulators in our building 24 hours a day,” Mack, 65, said yesterday at the “Covering the Crisis” panel hosted by Bloomberg News and Vanity Fair in New York. “They test our models. They question everything we do. I’ve never been regulated like that before. It’s a different environment. Someone said to me, ‘What do you think of it?’ I love it.” The Fed became the firm’s primary regulator when it approved Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley’s applications to become bank holding companies in September last year. The decision gave them access to funds from the central bank after credit for the firms seized up following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Mack, who plans to continue as chairman of New York-based Morgan Stanley after stepping down as CEO at the end of this year, said regulators should have been more proactive before the crisis. Mack said he even reached out to regulators after turning down financing a highly leveraged deal during the credit boom. “I missed a piece of business, I can live with that, but as soon as I hung up the phone someone else put up 10 times leverage,” Mack said he told the regulators. “We cannot control ourselves. You have to step in and control the Street.” Mack, who was in the audience of the panel, made the comments while answering a question of how he viewed the media coverage of his firm during the crisis. Mack said the majority of stories were fair, but reports that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. , which injected $9 billion into the firm last September, was close to backing out of the deal were “absolute b-s.” To contact the reporter on this story: Michael J. Moore in New York at mmoore55@bloomberg.net .
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August 13, 2009
By Keith Naughton Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) — Ford Motor Co., benefiting from the Obama administration’s “cash-for-clunkers†program, said it’s boosting factory output by 26 percent in the second half to meet the increased demand. Ford, the only major U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy, is increasing production by 18 percent in the third quarter to 495,000 cars and trucks. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker plans to raise plant output by 33 percent in the fourth quarter. The Ford Focus small car and the Escape small sport-utility vehicle are among the top 10 sellers in the federal program that gives consumers as much as $4,500 to trade in an older car for a fuel-efficient auto. Other leading sellers, such as the Fusion sedan, helped Ford post its first monthly sales increase in July since 2007. “People who would have liked to have traded in their larger SUVs have been held hostage by their lower resale values and concerns about the economy,†Ford sales analyst George Pipas said in an interview yesterday. “Cash for clunkers released that demand and allowed them to do what they’d wanted to do.†To increase Escape production, Ford said it is bringing workers back from scheduled shutdown at its Kansas City, Missouri, factory to work Aug. 21-22. To boost Focus output, Ford said it is scheduling overtime and adding Saturday shifts at its plant in Wayne, Michigan. Ford boosted production by 16 percent to 445,000 vehicles in the three months ended June 30 to take sales from domestic rivals General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, two companies that have since emerged from bankruptcy. ‘Flying Off’ Lots “The Ford Escape and Focus are flying off dealer lots and we’re doing all we can to ensure our dealers are well stocked,†Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, said in a statement. “We also are planning a significant increase in fourth-quarter production compared with last year, continuing to match production to the real demand.†Ford, which lost a record $14.7 billion last year, hasn’t earned an annual profit since 2005. The second-largest U.S. automaker had second-quarter net income of $2.26 billion after an accounting gain. Its operating loss of $638 million was less than half of what analysts projected. To contact the reporter on this story: Keith Naughton in Southfield, Michigan at Knaughton3@bloomberg.net
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