"Ford Posts First Full-Year Profit Since 2005"

ARI SHAPIRO, Host:

NPR's business news starts with a carmaker that's reporting some good news.

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SHAPIRO: Today, Ford Motor Company reported its first full year profit in four years. The company says it made 2.7 billion dollars in 2009, that's thanks to cost-cutting, debt reduction, and strong sales of its vehicles. Ford's earnings stand in contrast with its struggling American rivals, GM and Chrysler. This also comes as Toyota grapples with a massive recall involving faulty gas pedals. Although, today, Ford said it has also halted production of some vehicles it manufactures in China because those vehicles use gas pedals made by the same American manufacturer that supplied the faulty pedals to Toyota.