Dear Mr. Berko: I have been looking up the preferred stocks that you recommended and can't locate them on Yahoo, which is my main search engine for stocks and finance. Can you tell me how to input the preferred stock symbols so I can price them? And I'm also thinking of buying 2,000 shares of Ford because Kirk Kerkorian has taken a big equity position in the company. It seems everything he owns does well. What do you think of an investment in Ford now that Kirk Kerkorian has a large position as well as a voice on the board of directors? And how high do you think Kerkorian thinks the stock will go?

S.M.

Olathe, Kan.

Dear S.M.: I don't use Yahoo (YHOO-$21.60) for financial data because Yahoo Finance is run by a gaggle of geeks who think a blue chip is a damaged Bluetooth. So because you asked, I tried to access quotes on Yahoo using every combination of letters, icons, ciphers, numbers and squigglies on the keyboard I could imagine. I even called Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., and spent 23 minutes traipsing through a Byzantine labyrinth of press 1, press 2 ... and press 9 prompts. I couldn't get a live person to respond.
When you want a preferred stock quote, I suggest that you go to www.moneycentral.msn.com. And if you need the price of Citicorp Series AA 8.125 percent Preferred, just put the symbol C-P in the "Get Quote" box and - presto! - the price appears in all its glory.

Kirk Kerkorian made a few billion in the casino and hotel business but he seems to have an abiding love affair with the automobile industry. Kerkorian built a huge stake in Chrysler Corp. He was unable to purchase 100 percent of Chrysler so he acceded to a $36 billion takeover by Daimler-Benz in 1998. Kerkorian was a major irritant to GM's board in 2005 and 2006 after buying nearly $1 billion in GM stock. He dumped the shares in late 2006 when the board partially adopted his turnaround plan.

Then last year, he put in a $5.9 billion bid for Chrysler after its spin-off from Daimler-Benz but Cerberus Capital Management trumped Kerkorian, buying Chrysler for $7.4 billion in May of 2006. Kerkorian believes that Cerberus hugely overpaid for Chrysler. Now Chrysler needs about $2 billion in capital and Cerberus, which is in a cash and in a credit crunch, can't beg, borrow or steal the money. Kerkorian will lend Cerberus the money but Ceberus management doesn't like the terms!

Now this 90-year-old Merlin of money is putting his cash-stash on Ford (F-$5.03). Kerkorian's office told me that he has been following Ford since December of last year. He's comfortable with the stewardship of new Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally and believes Mulally has achieved some positive traction in turning Ford around. And Ford is certainly showing some signs of life with last quarter's earnings well above analysts' expectations. Now Mulally has sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors and he may also put Volvo Motors on the block, proof that Ford's restructuring has direction and momentum.

Kerkorian won't be able to absorb Ford because the family (many of whom couldn't manage a two-flavored lemonade stand) controls 40 percent of the company's voting rights. But Kerkorian's voice will be heard at Ford's board meetings even though some of the misfit Ford blue bloods won't like his manner or what he has to say. Kerkorian believes that Ford can return to the $30 range where it traded when William Ford, the great-great-grandson of Henry, assumed the helm in October of 2001.

But I'd not buy 2,000 shares of Ford stock. Rather, I would own Ford Motor 6.50 percent cumulative convertible trust securities. They trade on the New York Stock Exchange at $27.78 under the symbol (F-S) and the $3.25 dividend yields a comfy 11 percent. It's callable at $50 a share and is convertible into 2.8249 shares of common any time between now and January of 2032, when this issue comes due. The convertible is rated B-minus, does not qualify for the 15 percent tax rate and quarterly dividends are payable on the 15th of January, April, July and October. I think this is a much better alternative than owning the common stock.

Please address your financial questions to Malcolm Berko, P.O. Box 1416, Boca Raton, FL 33429 or e-mail him at malber@comcast.net.
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