Ford (F) Halted, Reinstates Dividend

Thought when Ford (

) was halted it might be news of CEO Mulally announcing retirement, which has been in the local papers as rumor.  Instead Ford

after many lean years.

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The Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company (NYSE:

-

) today declared a quarterly dividend of 5 cents per share.

"We have made tremendous progress in reducing debt and generating consistent positive earnings and cash flow," said Bill Ford , executive chairman, Ford Motor Company. "The board believes it is important to share the benefits of our improved financial performance with our shareholders. We are pleased to reinstate a quarterly dividend, as it is an important sign of our progress in building a profitably growing company and our confidence in the future."

Lewis Booth , Ford executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the company's strong liquidity and balance sheet improvements provide the underlying financial strength to resume paying a quarterly dividend. "Building a strong balance sheet that supports our growth plans remains a core part of our One Ford strategy," said Booth. "We have demonstrated our capability to finance our plans and we are confident that we can begin to pay a dividend that will be sustainable through economic cycles."

.

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Obviously it's not been a good road here for the stock despite improving auto sales in the U.S. - a lot of auto dealership stocks are making 52 week highs so the action in the

and

 of late versus the dealership stocks is striking.