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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Ford Motor reported its first full-year profit since 2005 and said it expects to be profitable again in 2010.

The automaker, which has outpaced the turnaround at both its domestic and some overseas rivals, said Thursday that it earned $2.7 billion in 2009. The company was helped by special items that added $2.6 billion to its bottom line during the year.

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NEW YORK – JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Friday announced a record $9.3 billion payday for its investment-banking employees, setting the stage for competitors like Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to also make eye-popping payouts.

On a per employee basis, JPMorgan investment bankers, sales staff and traders, on average, are set to make about $379,000 for 2009, up more than $100,000 from 2008, when the broader financial sector was mired in crisis.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Stocks were poised for a mixed start Thursday as investors awaited some reports on the labor market.

Dow Jones industrial average futures were lower, while Nasdaq-100 and S&P-500 futures were up slightly.

Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.

Stocks rose Wednesday as the falling dollar boosted commodity stocks, and a rise in wholesale inventories and an upgrade of 3M provided some optimism.

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NEW YORK (Fortune) — Are cash-strapped American consumers on for another date with energy price misery?

The U.S. economy remains weak and one in six Americans can’t find enough work. Yet oil prices have risen steadily this year. A barrel of crude costs $79 and change, more than double its price at the end of 2008.

This year’s runup pales in comparison to the one that peaked last summer above $145 a barrel. Even so, some researchers warn we could once again be approaching the point at which rising energy costs will squeeze consumers.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Last week’s big selloff did more than just rattle investors: it put an end to a seven-month win streak that had pushed the S&P 500 more than 60% above the March lows.

While the monthly decline was small — less than 2% — it emerged after a tumultuous week dictated by a stronger dollar, sliding energy and financial issues, and a variety of quarterly financial reports. A stronger-than-expected rise in third-quarter GDP growth — the strongest sign yet that the recession is over — provoked a one-day rally and nothing more.

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NEW YORK (Fortune) — A year ago investors fled small gold mining stocks as the desire for high-risk assets evaporated.

Now, even after investors have flooded back into the market, top-ranked gold fund manager Mark Johnson says the junior miners are undervalued, and he’s betting on their recovery.

“The best value is at the smaller end of the scale,” says Johnson, who is in his 16th year running USAA’s Precious Metals and Minerals fund (USAGX).

Junior miners are those with less than 250,000 ounces of annual gold production, which equates to roughly $250 million in revenue at gold’s current price.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Microsoft Corp.’s stock soared early Friday after the software giant reported quarterly sales and profit that fell from year-ago results but easily beat Wall Street’s forecasts.

Shares of Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) rose more than 10% in early trading. It surged as high as $29.35 at the open, hitting its highest level, on an intraday basis, since June 13, 2008.

The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant said its first-quarter net income fell 18% to $3.6 billion, or 40 cents per share, for the period ended Sept. 30. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings of 32 cents per share.

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LONDON (CNNMoney.com) — U.S. stock futures rose Friday, supported by solid results from Google, although gains were slight as investors awaited more earnings reports.

At 4:41 a.m. ET, S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Dow Jones industrial average futures were a shade higher.

Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.

Stocks have been on a roll recently. The Dow hit a fresh one-year high Thursday and closed above the 10,000 mark for the second straight session.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Shares of bailed-out mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac soared Monday, as investors try to piggyback on a rally in shares of government-backed financial companies.

Fannie (FNM, Fortune 500) shares rose nearly 50% in afternoon trading, while Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500) jumped almost 30%.

The mortgage giants’ Monday rally was sparked in large part by a jump in the shares of companies like AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), said Paul Miller, analyst at FBR Capital Markets and Co.

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NEW YORK – A more upbeat Federal Reserve reassured investors that they’ve been making the right bets.

Stocks extended their sharp gains Wednesday after the Fed, ending a two-day policy meeting, issued a more optimistic view of the economy and said it appears to be “leveling out.” That was a change from the central bank’s June assessment that the economy was shrinking at a slower pace.

Major stock market indicators surged about 2 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which gained 175 points to reverse a sharp slide Tuesday. Stocks fluctuated as they often do after a Fed announcement.

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CHICAGO – Surging demand from the government’s “cash for clunkers” program has helped lift Ford Motor Co. to its first monthly increase in two years, the company’s top sales analyst said Sunday.

July sales results mark the first year-over-year gain for Ford since November 2007 and apparently the first uptick by any of the six biggest carmakers since last August, George Pipas said.

He declined to disclose a specific total before sales results are officially reported on Monday. Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford sold a total of 161,071 vehicles in July 2008, down 15 percent from a year earlier.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Wall Street erased most of its losses by the close Wednesday, as investors set aside concerns about the economy to gear up for the quarterly reporting period, which got underway after the closing bell with Alcoa.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 15 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index lost 1 point, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq (COMP) ended just above unchanged.

Stocks slipped through most of Wednesday as investors continued to worry about the economy and the quarterly reporting period in the aftermath of a big run up. But after touching fresh multi-month lows in the afternoon, sto