The news at a glance

Ford: Domestic sales spur a surprise profit

Ford Motor posted a third-quarter profit of nearly $1 billion, surpassing even the most optimistic forecasts, said Douglas McIntyre in Marketwatch.com. But the real surprise was that the earnings came from domestic sales. Helped by the federal government’s “cash for clunkers” program, “Ford made money in North America for the first time in four years,” gaining $357 million before taxes in its home market. Profits fell by almost half in South America, dropping to $247 million from $480 million a year earlier, and showed only modest increases in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Ford’s next challenge is to turn a profit for a full year, said Nick Bunkley in The New York Times. The company expects to reach that goal in 2011, after losing a record $14.6 billion last year. But “Ford remains heavily in debt,” and it continues to butt heads with its U.S. unions. The United Auto Workers this week rejected a deal to freeze wages for new hires and bar most strikes, in return for a bonus of $1,000 per worker. Union members are angry “at being asked to make more sacrifices at a time when the company’s finances” are improving.

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Bankruptcies: CIT throws in the towel

Business lender CIT filed for Chapter 11 protection this week, ending a months-long struggle to stay out of bankruptcy court, said Linda Shen in Bloomberg.com. The firm listed $65 billion in debt, making its bankruptcy filing the fifth largest in U.S. history. CIT’s woes have “sparked concern among retail trade groups and lawmakers that companies would be left without financing.” The U.S. Treasury will likely lose money on the $2.3 billion in CIT preferred stock it bought last year when it was shoring up the financial system.

Markets: Insider-trading charges—a family affair

The Securities and Exchange Commission has brought insider-trading charges against the former chief financial officer of a San Francisco hedge fund, said Joseph Checkler and Sarah Lynch in The Wall Street Journal. Ronald Yee is former CFO of ValueAct Capital, “a firm known for taking big stakes at companies and becoming involved in their management.” The SEC accuses Yee of passing inside information to his brother-in-law, financier Chen Tang. Yee and Tang say they’ll fight the charges.

Energy: Two independents team up

Denbury Resources, a U.S. energy firm, has struck a deal to buy rival Encore Acquisition for $4.5 billion, said the Associated Press. When the deal is completed, the company will be one of the country’s largest independent energy exploration companies. Denbury is a leader in “tertiary production,” in which carbon dioxide is injected into old wells to boost their output. With operations concentrated along the Gulf Coast, Denbury is buying Encore to expand its presence in the Rocky Mountain region.

Regulation: BP hit with record fine

Federal regulators have socked British oil giant BP with a record fine of $87.4 million “for failing to resolve safety issues” exposed by a fatal explosion at its Texas City, Texas, oil refinery, said Sarah Arnott in the London Independent. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said BP had failed to improve safety at the plant, where 15 people died and 170 were injured in a 2005 explosion. BP’s inaction, OSHA said, could lead to another catastrophe. BP said it would appeal.