FORD Q3 PROFIT FALLS NEARLY 60% ON COSTS

MICH.» Ford DEARBORN,

Motor Co.’s third-quarter net income tumbled nearly 60% as the company booked $1.5 billion in charges mainly for restructuring, and Chinese and U.S. sales fell.

The Dearborn, Mich., automaker knocked a halfbillion dollars off its fullyear pretax earnings guidance. Ford now says it will make $6.5 billion to $7 billion, or $1.20 to $1.32 per share.

Ford’s net income from July through September was $425 million, or 11 cents per share.

Tesla’s stock soars after company posts surprising third-quarter profit.

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Tesla posted a surprising profit of $143 million in its latest quarter, raising hopes the electriccar pioneer may finally be turning the corner after posting mostly losses during its first decade as a publicly held company.

The positive results, announced Wednesday, came after Tesla lost $1.1 billion during the first half of the year. That had caused many investors to lose faith in the company even as it boosted sales of its vehicles.

Doubts about Tesla forced its stock to fall by 23% so far this year, while the bellwether Standard & Poor’s 500 index has climbed 20%. But Tesla’s shares recovered a big chunk of those losses after its third-quarter numbers came out.

Slowing global growth hits Caterpillar in third quarter.

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NEW slowing global economy is taking a toll on Caterpillar, which cut its outlook for the year Wednesday after profits and revenue slid in the third quarter.

Hinting at a pull-back in spending by builders, dealers slashed inventories by about $400 million. That’s a $1.2 billion swing from last year’s third quarter, when dealers increased inventories by $800 million. Caterpillar’s revenue and sales declined about 6%.

The heavy-equipment maker was hit hardest in Asia, where lower demand in China fueled a nearly 30% decline in sales.

Microsoft racks up more cloud customers.

WASH.» Microsoft REDMOND, on Wednesday reported to Wall Street its latest solid quarterly report card, buoyed by another round of business customers signing up for its cloud computing services.

The company reported fiscal first-quarter profit of $10.7 billion, up 21% from the same period last year.

The net income of $1.38 per share beat Wall Street expectations.

— Denver Post wire services