Ford's boss hits the road

The carmaker’s shares have struggled and CEO Mark Fields has paid the price. Will that cheer investors up? Ben Judge reports

The carmaker's shares have struggled and the CEO has paid the price. Will that cheer investors up? Ben Judge reports.

"A look at Ford's share-price graph says it all," says Alan Tovey in The Daily Telegraph. In the three years since Mark Fields was appointed chief executive, it has fallen by almost 40%. Earlier this month, Ford's market value fell below that of Tesla, the electric-car maker. The company, which was worth $67bn in 2014, is now worth just $43bn, little more than the $40bn in cash, equivalents and short-term investments on its balance sheet, says Chris Bryant on Bloomberg Gadfly.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Swipe to scroll horizontally
CompanySectorShort interest on 23 MayShort interest on 25 Apr
CarillionConstruction24.5723.82
Wm MorrisionSupermarkets17.4617.41
OcadoSupermarkets16.9017.04
Mitie GroupOutsourcing13.7615.09
DebenhamsGeneral retailers10.9410.23
Tullow OilOil & gas10.3816.36
Marks & SpencerGeneral retailers9.158.94
Telit CommunicationsTelecoms equipment8.799.67
Hansteen HoldingsProperty8.48NEW ENTRY
J SainsburySupermarkets8.13NEW ENTRY
Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.