Moody’s raises Ford back up to investment grade

This final note today — a happy one for the Ford Motor Company. They’ve got their blue oval back.

I’ll explain. One of the reasons Ford was the only one of the Big Three not to go broke and need a bailout was that back in 2006, they posted virtually every hard asset they had — factories, the oval, everything — as collateral for a $23.5 billion loan.

That let ’em get through the recession intact. And today, Moody’s raised Ford’s debt rating back to investment grade, which means they get their stuff back.