S&P might knock Ford down another notch

Is this month over yet? The bad news just keeps on coming. S&P is stating that it might be time for Ford to take a deeper step into junk-bond territory, depending on the company's 4th-quarter results. The ratings firm named the declining SUV market, Ford's potential weakness in the full-size pickup market (did we miss something?), and price pressures brought on by General Motors' never-ending discounts (we didn't miss those) as reasons for the potential downgrade. S&P states Ford's consolidated debt at $142B, or roughly the profit from 15 million SUVs back in the "good ol' days".