Ford to post quarterly earnings today

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Renita Jablonski: The key earnings due today come from the likes of Microsoft, American Express, and US Airways. Ford Motor Company is also on the list. Ford’s expected to report it lost more money last quarter. Some are putting the dollar amount around half a billion. Jill Barshay has more.

Jill Barshay: Ford has the same problem as GM and Chrysler. Its lineup is filled with pick-up trucks and SUVs, but Americans want smaller, fuel-efficient cars. David Healy of Burnham Securities says the 35-mile-per-gallon Ford Focus is selling out of showrooms. But at 15-grand a pop, he says Ford isn’t making money on it.

David Healy: Their most profitable models are selling poorly, and their least profitable or even unprofitable models are selling very well.

Healy says switching to alternative energy cars isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Healy: Ford is coming out with more hybrids and is talking very green at this point. But hydrogen or fuel cells are a long, long way away. So, Ford is going to have to make it on gasoline or diesel vehicles.

Ford predicts it’ll turn a profit again next year. But Healy says that’ll depend on whether Ford can make cars that people will buy in large numbers or at a high enough price.

In New York, I’m Jill Barshay for Marketplace.