In today's edition, industrials editor and analyst Brendan Byrnes discusses a deal that General Motors is closing in on that would give it the ability to cut back hours from 35 per week to 31 at two German plants that employ around 16,000 people. Europe continues to have a chronic overcapacity problem: Factories are producing too many vehicles for a market that's expected to see sales declines for the fifth straight year. This might not sound like a big deal for GM, but it shows that the company understands the problem and has a sense of urgency about fixing its operations in Europe. It could also potentially save the company quite a bit of money in the short term, something badly needed as both GM and Ford struggled and posted huge losses in Europe last quarter.
Europe is one of the main reasons that GM and Ford have underperformed this year. Looking specifically at Ford, the company is making good vehicles, is consistently profitable, recently reinstated its dividend, and has done a remarkable job paying down its debt. With Ford's stock sitting at around 6 times forward earnings, does this create an incredible buying opportunity, or are there hidden risks with the stock that investors need to know about? To answer that, one of our top equity analysts has compiled a premium research report with in-depth analysis on whether Ford is a buy right now, and why. Simplyclick here to get instant access to this premium report.
