Re: question on finance capital

[Doug Henwood <dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx>]

michael wrote:

> Business Week describes GM becoming almost entirely dependent on its
> finance unit.  I recall seeing something similar about Ford.

A few years ago, Ford was making money on its finance division and
breaking even on cars. But the finance division was almost
exclusively devoted to financing the purchase of Ford vehicles. So,
they were capturing a business formerly engaged in by bankers, and
their finance business was dependent on what they manufactured (which
undermines the usual postindustrial story).

Doug