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As expected, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) posted dreadful results. But the numbers were even more awful than Wall Street feared, sending shares of the company plunging in premarket action.

The number three automaker -- at least for now --- posted a net loss of $8.7 billion, or $3.88 a share, for the second quarter including a $5.3 billion write down of its North American auto business and another $2.1 billion charge. A year earlier, Ford had a net profit of $750 million, or 31 cents per share. Revenue excluding special items fell to $38.6 billion compared with $44.2 billion during the year earlier period.

Excluding one-time expenses, the loss was $1.38 billion, or 62 cents. On that basis, analysts had expected a loss of 27 cents on revenue of $34.6 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Disproving reports that its growth days are behind it, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today reported quarterly results that far exceeded Wall Street estimates.

Net income at the No.1 e-tailer more than doubled to $158 million, or 37 cents a share, up from $78 million or 19 cents per share. Revenue jumped 41% to $4.06 billion. The New York Times noted that analysts had expected a 26 cent profit on sales of $3.96 billion. The results, though, were not good enough for Wall Street, and investors sent Amazon's shares tumbling in after-hours trading.

One reason for the thumbs down may be that the company's gross margins -- always a concern with investors -- contracted slightly. The company also maintained its revenue forecast for the current period. Maybe investors were expecting the company to boost earnings guidance as it benefits from shoppers bypassing malls and spending on gasoline in favor of shopping at home.

Skeptics, including me, have underestimated the company. Soleil Securities analyst Scott Tilghman told Bloomberg News that "There's a misperception out there that e-commerce is much more mature than it actually is. They (Amazon) offer one-stop shopping and often better prices than bricks-and-mortar stores, which should offset any slowdown in consumer spending."

Looks like he may have a point.

[July 24 UPDATE: Amazon shares soar after Chief Executive Jeff Bezos' bullish comments. The shares were little changed at first until Bezos said on the earnings conference call that the company was benefiting from consumers avoiding driving to brick-and-mortar stores because of concerns about high gas prices. Shares are up over 15% by early afternoon Thursday.]

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) have jumped after the New York Times reported that Chief Executive Steve Jobs has told associates that he is cancer free.

Concern about Jobs' health have kept Apple's shares depressed even as it faces soaring demand for the just released iPhone 3G. The company's reluctance to discuss the CEO's health during the recent earnings conference call only added to the speculation.

That's why the Times' report saying "in recent weeks, Mr. Jobs has reassured several people that he is doing well and that four years after a successful operation to treat a rare form of pancreatic cancer, he is cancer free" is so curious. Why didn't the company just say that when it released earnings? The question was bound to come up given how awful Jobs has looked during recent public appearances.

Of course, Apple's paranoia is legendary. It guards its secrets even more zealously than the CIA. Jobs decided that his health is no one's business even though as a CEO of a public company it is of material interest to shareholders. But the matter is still not closed entirely.

"People who are close to Mr. Jobs say that he had a surgical procedure this year to address a problem that was contributing to a loss of weight," the paper said, not offering any specifics. Investors' concern is understandable since according to a patient group, 75% of all pancreatic cancer patients die within the first year of diagnosis.

Jobs has defied the odds. Let's hope that actor Patrick Swayze does as well.

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s (NASDAQ: SIRI) $3.5 billion acquisition of rival XM Satellite Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: XMSR) might at long last be approved by the Federal Communications Commission, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"Republican commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate is the only FCC member left to vote on the deal and she is expected to do so shortly, two FCC officials close to the negotiations said," the paper said. "She is expected to sign off on the deal in exchange for a consent decree that resolves several enforcement issues involving the satellite radio companies and a combined fine of about $20 million, an FCC source close to the deal."

Even with the regulatory hurdles just about cleared, the future of satellite radio is far from clear. As my colleague Douglas McIntyre noted earlier today, losses at both companies are narrowing but their subscription growth rates are slowing. Both firms also are more than $1 billion in debt.

Though I am a big fan of the medium, I wonder sometimes whether its moment in the sun has past. Remember BetaMax and 8-track players were considered cutting edge at one time.

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) today reported strong second quarter results as the maker of soft drinks and salty snacks such as Cheetos weathered rising commodity prices and continued to benefit from the weak dollar.

Net income rose more than 9% to $1.7 billion, or $1.05 per share, as revenue soared 14% to $10.9 billion, the Purchase, NY-based company said in a statement. The results surpassed the $1.01 profit forecast and $10.6 billion sale forecast of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

"PepsiCo continued to drive growth across its worldwide snacks and beverage businesses primarily through strong product innovation, well-executed pricing actions and focus on expense control and productivity." said Chief Executive Indra Nooyi, "We are proud of our first-half performance and confident that we are well-positioned to deliver on our outlook amidst a challenging macroeconomic environment."

In the quarter, PepsiCo International showed over 20% revenue growth and over 30% profit growth from prior year. A weak spot was PepsiCo Americas Beverages. The economic slowdown has hurt the business, pushing down volumes by 1%. Mountain Dew and Sierra Mist both grew in the single-digits while Pepsi fell in the mid single digits. Energy drinks were a bright spot lead by a triple-digit volume growth in AMP Energy and a 50% gain in SoBe Life Water. Gatorade also showed gains in the quarter.

Investors reacted cautiously to the earnings report because the company said it could not provide "guidance on the 2008 projected EPS growth including the impact of the mark-to-market gains or losses on commodity hedges due to the unpredictability of future changes in commodity prices." The shares are up only fractionally in mid-morning trading.

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) shares fell after the second-largest commercial plane maker reported disappointing second quarter earnings.

Net income dropped 19% to $852 million, or $1.16 a share, from $1.05 billion, or $1.35 a share, a year earlier, the Chicago-based company said in a statement. Revenue was flat at $17 billion. The results fell short of the $1.22 profit estimate and the $17.3 billion revenue estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Boeing reaffirmed its 2008 earnings per share guidance of between $5.70 and $5.85 as well as its 2009 earnings per share guidance of between $6.80 and $7.00.

"While we faced some challenges this quarter that affected our results, we remain confident in our outlook for the remainder of this year and 2009," said Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney in the earnings release. "Strong global demand for our products and services, a record backlog, and a sustained focus on productivity improvement and execution will continue to drive growth and profitability for this company."

A government bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would cost U.S. taxpayers $25 billion over the next two years under a plan being proposed by the Bush administration, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.

The July 14th proposal by the administration would grant the Secretary of the Treasury temporary authority to purchase obligations and other securities issued by Fannie, Freddie and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Congress is expected to vote on the proposal soon.

CBO used historical data to estimate expected losses on the different types of credit risk the GSE's (government-sponsored enterprises) have in their portfolios.

Republicans and my colleague Aaron Katsman are trying to blame Democrat Barack Obama for rising gas prices. This is election-year politics at its worst.

For one thing, as the Washington Post and other independent observers note, drilling for more oil will do little to alleviate the pain U.S. drivers are feeling at the pump. The available supplies are probably not going to make much of a dent in our never-ending thirst for the black gold. Remember, the oil may not be as easy to get or cheap to process.

"Drilling off the coasts would increase U.S. oil production but have no short-term impact on gas prices," the Post says. "While some analysts disagree, an Energy Department report last year said production would not start until 2017 and have no 'significant' effect on prices or supplies until 2030."

An even more ridiculous idea floated by Republican John McCain is the so-called gas tax holiday, which has been roundly denounced by economists and Obama as a dangerous economic gimmick. Experts estimate that it would save the average consumer a whopping $30.

Shares of UAL Corp. (NYSE: UAUA), the parent company of United Airlines, soared today after the Chicago-based company announced it had enhanced its liquidity by $1.2 billion. The company also posted second quarter results that were not as dismal as Wall Street had expected

The company will receive a payment of $600 million from JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) related to the advance purchase of frequent flier miles. In addition, the level of reserves that United is required to maintain under its credit card processing agreement with Chase Paymentech has been reduced to $25 million, a move which will free up about $350 million in previously restricted cash. UAL expects the frequent flier payment to improve cash flow by about $200 million over the next two years.

"Combined with the previously announced approximately $550 million raised from new transactions in the second and third quarters, the company will have increased its total cash balance by $1.7 billion and continues to have more than $3 billion in unencumbered hard assets," UAL said in a press release.

This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

When I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, I remember watching O.J. Simpson in Hertz (NYSE:HTZ) ads dash through the airport on my television screen as a spunky old woman yelled "go, O.J., go." It seems like these spots were always featured during breaks of favorite ABC TV shows "Charlie's Angels", "The Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island." I even imitated O.J. when I went to the airport, much to the horror of my parents. I thought that, next to TV private eye Jim Rockford, Simpson was the coolest guy in the world.

Of course, no one realized at the time that Simpson's nice-guy image was an act. When he led police on his infamous low-speed chase through the freeways of Southern California, people saw O.J. running again -- this time from the law, under suspicion for the murder of his wife and waiter Ron Goldman. Again, people thought about Hertz. When he was acquitted, people thought about Hertz. For people my age (40), O.J. and Hertz will be forever linked. That's the power of branding.

About the only thing O.J, is endorsing these days is plastic football helmets and old pictures of himself, which is the root of his current legal troubles in Las Vegas. People are less interested in him in that world. At least one sports memorabilia dealer has his O.J. Simpson-autographed merchandise on sale.

To be fair, Hertz severed its ties to Simpson when allegations of domestic abuse first surfaced in 1992. Since then, advertisers do a much more thorough background check on their celebrities before hiring them to tell us how we should spend our discretionary income. We are a nation of sheep. The problem is that we as Americans continue to look to our celebrities before making important decisions, which is a pity.

Read the entire series

This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See how we rank the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

Remember the early part of 2008? Britney Spears was nuts. The economy was not in the toilet as much and commercials for Pfizer's (NYSE:PFE) anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor blanketed the nation's broadcast and cable airwaves. Good times.

Those Lipitor commercials -- in case you have forgotten -- featured medical scientist Dr. Robert Jarvik Jarvick speaking about the heart disease that killed his father and urging the public to ask their doctor about the pill. Jarvick, Jarvik, the "inventor" of the artificial heart, looked healthy and vigorous as he rowed on a sunny lake. As the New York Times pointed out, the ad was a pack of lies.
Jarvick Jarvik is a medical doctor who is not licensed to practice medicine and who may have exaggerated his role in developing the artificial heart. Plus, he does not even row. Talk about truth in advertising. After members of Congress balked, Pfizer pulled the campaign that reportedly cost it $256 million. Pfizer is going to have to figure another way to bolster sales of Lipitor before it comes off patent in 2010. Maybe James "Tony Soprano" Gandolfini can be persuaded to urge people to "whack" their cholesterol. Just a suggestion.

The sad thing is that Jarvik Jarvick is not the sleaziest pitchman in the drug industry. Those would be the celebrities who go on TV to "raise awareness" about a disease. Drug companies often pay them too. It's hardly surprising the U.S. is the only country to allow drug companies to sell directly to consumers. Whatever benefits these ads create are outweighed by the problems they cause.

Read the entire series

In a surprise move, UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) said today that it would end off-shore banking and security services in the U.S.

The decision was disclosed today by Mark Branson, the chief financial officer for UBS Global Wealth Management and Business Banking during testimony before a U.S. Senate hearing on tax havens. According to Bloomberg News, the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on investigations found that UBS bankers from Switzerland -- who were not licensed in the U.S. -- frequently traveled here to woo wealthy Americans interested in setting up secret Swiss bank accounts or shell companies in tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands.

UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, has estimated 19,000 Swiss accounts for U.S. clients with assets valued at $18 billion, according to the subcommittee's report. Along with LGT Bank of Lichtenstein, UBS allowed U.S. clients who sold their U.S. securities to continue to hold undisclosed accounts and to open accounts in the name of non-US entities that were owned by U.S. clients.

Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) soared today after the New York-based bank reported second quarter results that were not as lousy as expected.

They were terrible of course. Net income fell 53% to $2 billion, or 54 cents a share, ahead of the 44-cent average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Net revenue fell 3% to $18.4 billion, beating the $16.6 billion average Bloomberg estimate.

The results, though, underscore how well the company has fared under the leadership of CEO Jamie Dimon.

Here are some highlights:

• Investment banking fees were $1.7 billion, their second highest quarter ever.
• Net income in commercial banking rose 25% to $355 million.
• Net income was a record $425 million in Treasury and Security Services, up 21% from a year earlier.
• Equity underwriting fees rose 6% to $542 million.
• Fix income markets revenue dropped only 4% driven largely by net markdowns of $696 million on leveraged lending funded and unfunded commitments, as well as mortgage-related net markdowns of $405 million.
  

The straight-talking Dimon did not mince words about the challenges that lie ahead for JPMorgan, saying in the release, "Our expectation is for the economic environment to continue to be weak – and to likely get weaker – and for the capital markets to remain under stress.... In spite of the environment, we are confident that we are building an increasingly strong and profitable company."

But unlike many on Wall Street, Dimon can walk the walk and talk the talk.

The Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO), which has been battling declining sales of carbonated beverages, is not finding many friends on Wall Street after reporting its second quarter results.

As expected, they were weak. Net income fell 23% to $1.42 billion, or 61 cents per share, compared with $1.85 billion, or 80 cents, a year earlier, the Atlanta-based company said in its earnings press release. Excluding a non-cash impairment charge resulting from the write down of North American assets of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.
(NYSE:CCE), profit would have been $1.01. Revenue rose 17% to $9.05 billion.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) today reported better-than-expected second quarter results, allaying fears that the economic slowdown would hurt the world's largest chipmaker.

Net income rose 25% to $1.6 billion, or 28 cents and sales jumped 9.1% to $9.47 billion, beating analysts' expectations of profit of 26 cents on revenue of $9.33 billion. The company even gave robust guidance of $10 billion to $10.6 billion. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expected sales of $10.01 billion. Shares of the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company rose in after-hours trading along with other tech bellwethers such as Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG).

"Intel had another strong quarter with revenue at the high end of expectations and earnings up substantially year over year," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO, in the earnings release. "As we enter the second half, demand remains strong for our microprocessor and chipset products in all segments and all parts of the globe."