GENEVA (AP) — Ford launched its new B-Max family car at the Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday, amid concerns that faltering demand in Europe may require mass market automakers to consider further plant closures.

The subcompact B-Max, to be sold only in Europe, is recognizable for its missing pillar between the front and rear doors and is aimed squarely at a demographic squeezed by government austerity measures.

It features Ford’s EcoBoost fuel-saving technology, another nod to cost-conscious consumers looking to counter rising gas prices.

Ford’s chief executive Alan Mulally insisted the company still considers Europe an important market, despite losing money there last year.

“Europe, even now with the slowdown, we’re at nearly 14 million units,” he told The Associated Press at a pre-show event late Monday. By comparison, Ford’s estimate for North America is only slightly higher, with 14.5 million units.

But Mulally said that to compete, automakers need to aggressively meet consumer demand. At the moment there is a strong appetite for small, sleek and sporty vehicles in Europe, he said. “Remember when smaller cars used to be cheap and cheerful? Now the consumers want the finest quality, the finest fuel efficiency, safety and design.”

Meanwhile, Ford Europe‘s CEO told reporters Tuesday that European policymakers should stop getting in the way of plant closures as the industry seeks to balance supply with shrinking demand.

“I believe policymakers can stop making statements that they understand capacity should be taken out — but not in my country,” Odell said.

He also criticized the European free trade agreement with Korea as being lopsided — resulting in seven times more cars arriving from South Korea than heading there from Europe. He hopes the same thing won’t happen with an Indian accord being negotiated.

Idle production lines in Europe are cutting profits as automakers face a contracting market. Odell said Ford plants are operating just above 90 percent thanks to earlier plant closures, and emphasized that Ford Europe has been profitable for six of the last eight years despite a difficult economic environment.

By comparison, capacity utilization in 2011 in North America on the same two-shift basis was 106 percent.

More recently, Ford Europe has dropped a Belgian plant to four days a week and reducing the temporary work force at plants in Germany and Britain.

Ford made difficult decisions on plants during the 2008 and 2009 crisis — something that didn’t happen Europe-wide “for a number of national reasons,” Ford CFO Lewis Booth told The Associated Press.

Ford will focus on cost containment to return to profitability until demand is restored, but he declined to speculate on possible measures. Booth said Ford Europe could lose $500 to $600 million dollars this year, after recording losses of $190 million in the last quarter of 2011.

“The European consumer is nervous about spending money because he doesn’t know what the future holds,” Booth said.

Apple is expected to reveal a new version of its coveted iPad on Wednesday in its first major media event since the death of legendary founder and beloved pitchman Steve Jobs.

In typical Apple style, the California-based company has offered the scantest of hints as to what it will unveil on the stage of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, igniting a wildfire of rumor in the online technology world.

A picture on press invitations, and Apple’s usual product cycle, made it a virtually sure bet that the star of the event will be a third-generation model of its market-ruling iPad tablet computer.

“All signs point to a new version of iPad,” Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg told AFP.

Speculation is that the “iPad 3′ will feature a higher resolution display closer to the quality of Apple’s popular iPhone 4S; a faster processor, and perhaps an improved camera.

Rumors have also been circulating that Apple might make its Siri artificial intelligence assistant software available on the iPad. Siri has been a hit on the iPhone 4S.

Apple may introduce a version of the iPad with a smaller screen and lower price to fend off competition from Amazon’s Kindle Fire and the Nook from book-seller Barnes Noble, according to independent Silicon Valley analyst Rod Enderle.

An Apple TV announcement could also be in store, given that it has been a while since the company has upgraded its offering in an Internet television market being heated up by offerings from Google and makers of major videogame consoles.

While much of the world will be mesmerized by slick gadgets unveiled by Apple, Gartenberg will be paying close attention to software and services integrated to make devices “stand out from the crowd.”

People’s devotion to gadgets is tied more to fun or useful ways they can be used than to the slickness of the hardware, according to analysts.

“There are great Android tablets on the market from a hardware perspective but they don’t sell worth a damn because they don’t have the ecosystem that Apple has,” Gartner analyst Van Baker said, referring to the cornucopia of applications, services and content such as music and films available for Apple gadgets.

“Apple is in such good shape already in the tablet space that they don’t need to do anything Earth-shattering to maintain momentum.”

Baker said he will keenly watch how well Apple’s new chief executive Tim Cook performs in the on-stage shoes of Jobs, who was a wizard at getting people to see the company’s innovations as magical.

“People love to talk about Steve Jobs’ reality distortion field,” Baker said. “It wasn’t a reality distortion field, it was amazing marketing.

“This event is going to give insight into how Tim is at doing what Steve did so well.”

Cook is a proven master at managing Apple’s supply chain, but has a more reserved style than Jobs.

The Apple co-founder and mind behind the wildly popular iPod, iPad and iPhone devices died in October after battling pancreatic cancer.

“Apple is still operating under the false assumption that they don’t need to backfill Steve,” Enderle said. “He had an ability to let people see the magic, and they have lost that.”

In the meantime, Enderle expects Apple to sell every iPad they build and for the habit of hordes rushing out to buy the company’s new gadgets to linger.

Another Apple executive, perhaps iPhone software senior vice president Scott Forstall or product design senior vice president Jonathan Ive, could yet step up as a charismatic company frontman, according to analysts.

“Does the company still need someone at the helm to get people excited about things that aren’t that exciting?” Baker asked rhetorically. “Yes, they do.

“I am going to be looking for that sizzle, that magic — is it there and who is doing it.”

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F – News) revealed that it is likely to lose between $500 million and $600 million in 2012 in the 19 European markets covered by the automaker owing to the ongoing debt crisis in the region. The figure compared with a meager $27 million loss recorded by the company in 2011. In the fourth quarter of last year, the loss amounted to $190 million.

While releasing the fourth quarter results, Ford projected industry volume (including medium and heavy trucks) of 14.0 million units–15.0 million units for full year 2012 in Europe. However, industry-wide sales in the region are expected to reach the lower end of the forecast, according to the Chief Financial Officer of the company, Lewis Booth.

The present Euro zone financial crisis affected the operations of many global automakers, especially Ford and General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM – News). Both automakers have significant exposure to the market.

The car dealers in Europe are trying very hard to entice consumers with steep discounts and other sales promotions, which will put a downward pressure on their margins. The West European car market is expected to decline to 11 million units in 2012.

A few months back, GM’s European arm, Opel, revealed that it expects to report an operating loss of €1 billion ($1.3 billion) due to fewer than anticipated car sales. The unit expects to sell 1.4 million vehicles in 2012, which are about 100,000 units less than the earlier projected sales.

In order to reverse the 12 years of losses in Europe (totaling more than $12 billion), particularly from the Opel brand, GM has recently formed a global allowance with PSA Peugeot Citroen (Other OTC:PEUGY.PK – News). The alliance will help both the automakers reduce at least $2 billion in costs.

Ford, a Zacks #3 Rank (Hold) stock, posted a 34% fall in profit to $797 million or 20 cents per share (before special items) in the fourth quarter of 2011 from $1.20 billion or 30 cents per share (before special items) in the same quarter of 2010. With this, the automaker has missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7 cents per share. Total revenue during the quarter grew 6.5% to $34.6 billion. It was higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $31.8 billion.

For full year 2011, Ford reported a 19% decline in profit to $6.12 billion or $1.51 per share (before special items) from $7.58 billion or $1.91 per share in 2010. However, the company’s profit failed to meet the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.84 per share. Revenues in the year increased 13% to $136.3 billion. It was higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $128.2 billion.

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DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co may lose up to $600 million in Europe this year as the ongoing debt crisis hurts overall auto sales in the region, Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth said on Wednesday.

Industry-wide sales in Europe appear to be heading toward 14 million vehicles this year, Booth said. This represents the low end of Ford’s annual sales forecast for the region.

“We’ve seen Europe get off to a tough start,” Booth told reporters at Ford’s global headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. “We think Europe is much more likely now to be at the bottom end of the scale.”

If that happens, Ford is likely to lose between $500 million and $600 million in the region. A loss of that magnitude would dwarf the $27 million Ford lost in Europe last year.

But Booth said Ford was confident in its overall profit outlook for the year because it expects strong results in North America, where auto sales are on the rise.

“We feel OK about the guidance we’ve given for the total company,” Booth said.

Ford had projected new vehicle sales in Europe to be between 14 million and 15 million this year, down from 15.3 million vehicles in 2011.

Europe’s debt crisis has depressed demand for new vehicles in the 19 markets Ford tracks in the region, where automakers had already been contending with overcapacity, paper-thin margins and tough price competition.

On Wednesday, General Motors Co and PSA Peugeot Citroen announced that they formed a global alliance that would allow the two automakers to cut at least $2 billion in costs.

GM is banking on the deal to help it reverse 12 years of losses in Europe, mainly from its Opel brand, totaling more than $12 billion. Peugeot, which relies heavily on the European market, hopes to increase sales in other markets.

The deal between GM and Peugeot “is an indication that people are looking for different solutions,” Booth said. But he added that capacity still had to be taken out of Europe.

Ford lost $190 million in the fourth quarter in Europe. Booth said he expected the rate of losses there to be similar or slightly worse in the first quarter of 2012.

After that, he said, Ford expects the rate to improve as it begins to introduce new vehicles to the marketplace.

(Reporting By Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

Apple’s new connected TV may look like a giant iPhone, though its screen could be as big 50-inches rather than standard 3.5-inches for the iPhone. With Apple’s characteristic secrecy, consumers are curious about when the mega-iTV will hit the market, how it will change the media business and how much it will cost. We believe the connected TV could hit Apple stores and distributors in the second half of 2012, and based on our checks, Sharp is ramping production of the sets.

Apple may launch iTV using partners, as it did with the iPhone, and may have negotiated deals with cable operators already. Comcast, BCE and Rogers could be among the first operators to distribute into homes in the U.S. and Canada. Apple’s iTV partners could have a similar deal to iPhone partners, that is, Apple could offer some exclusivity with a quid pro quo that the partners subsidize the device.

How much is the device and what is the subsidy? Let’s take our clues from the iPhone. The retail price for the iPhone I at introduction was $800 — consumers paid $600 and ATT gave a $200 subsidy. The ratios for the iTV at introduction could be similar, so consumers could pay 75% of retail with a 25% subsidy from the operator. We expect the iTV to retail for less $2000 based on our assumptions of component costs at initial volumes and Apple’s high gross margins.  The retail prices and costs could drop with volumes as both follow a downward sloping curve.

Apple may require volume commitments from its cable partners, as it did with the iPhone, and adherence to some technical specifications. In return, cable companies will be able to lock consumers into multi-year contracts and get first dibs on high-volume streamers, the most profitable market segment. Cable will get a recurring a revenue stream for connected TV customers, with upside as demand grows for on-line videos and games.

The new iTV is actually Apple’s third version of connected HDTV and the first one cable managements endorsed for its ease of use.  Apple’s first version had a stripped down Mac OS X operating system and the second had an iPhone iOS operating system, but both versions left programmers wanting. In his book, Steve Jobs told his biographer Walter Isaacson he cracked the code for the user interface to allow the connected TV to sync with different devices and access the iCloud.  This technical breakthrough was pivotal for the third version of iTV, and for the Apple’s foray into the multibillion dollar global market for televisions, media and advertising.

The new interface allows users to speak commands to the iTV rather than scroll through hundreds of programs using a pointer. Apple introduced voice-activation on the iPhone 4S, which had strengths in requests for locations. Apple adapted the vocabulary of the personal attendant for finding entertainment, increasing responsiveness for program names and genres. Using the attendant, consumers will be able to access programs from sources on the internet, wireline, wireless or WiFi.

Imagine asking your automated assistant to suggest a television show.

“Siri, can you get me a drama with intense political in-fighting and intrigue?”

“Sure”, she responds, “Do you want to watch “The Boss” or the election news?”

In the future, users will watch anything and everything by simply commanding a virtual assistant. And they will be able to watch videos or play games on any interconnected device. In Apple’s business model for television, viewers will pay for what they stream.

With iTV, the cable partners could get a boost in revenues.  Now, they get about half their revenues from subscription fees and half from advertising.  The iTV partners will continue their core business and package programs, place ads, handle billing and collection, and manage the network facilities.  But, they may get an opportunity to increase prices for broadband connections and increase revenues in advertising.  There is a caveat.  Viewers will have many options for programming and increased competition could drive down prices for programs.  But, on the positive side, operators may raise prices for broadband especially at the high end where users are price insensitive.  Also, as advertising becomes automated, driven by algorithms rather than people at advertising agencies, advertisers will deal directly with operators, reducing the role of the middleman advertisers.   Cable operators could capture increased share in advertising.

With Apple iTV, advertising models may be unrecognizable in a few years.  Advertisers will research consumers to profile their psychographics and demographics based on viewing preferences, buying habits and zip code.   They will try to understand price elasticity of demand by segment.   As trends go, micro-targeting is on the rise and mass marketing is on the decline. In the new model of advertising, corporations will pay operators for access to individual customers on a transaction basis.

In summary, Apple could take major share of revenues and profits in consumer TVs, as it did with the iPhone.  Morgan Keegan calculated Apple had 50% of the revenues for smartphones and 80% of the profits last year. While the numbers may be high, Apple certainly outperformed the market by orders of magnitude. We don’t expect substantial competition from new VOD players like Google, Microsoft or Hulu. Apple’s iTV combines of the functions of a computer and a TV in an integrated system of hardware and software with service thrown in. Apple could outmaneuver competitors with its advantage of controlling the ecosystem, and, the user experience.  The others are limited largely to software.