Financial headlines

December 18, 2007

Ford Motor Co. may choose India’s Tata Motors Ltd. as the preferred bidder for its Britain-based Jaguar and Land Rover brands, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the deliberations. The selection would allow Ford to negotiate exclusively with Tata before reaching a final agreement. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., another India-based manufacturer, and JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s One Equity Partners LLC buyout unit also have been candidates, people familiar with the bidding said in September. Ford wants to sell the units to focus on its money-losing North American operations.

The Bush administration reacted coolly Monday to a suggestion from former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan that the government should consider bolder efforts to deal with the current mortgage crisis. Asked about Greenspan’s suggestion that perhaps public money should be used to help struggling homeowners, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the administration remained opposed to any type of government bailout. "I think what we need is to help the markets work the way they’re intended to work," Paulson said on Fox Business News.