Inside the mind of Sergio Marchionne and Doctors living on loans

In fact, the restructured Chrysler is expected to report a net profit for the first time since 2006 when it releases its full-year results on Feb. 1. And it is not unfair to give the lion's share of the credit to one man: Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne. With his lightning-quick mind, boundless energy, and utter self-confidence, he took over the company, selected a management team, created a product plan, and established a set of performance targets. Chrysler's ability to hit them was a huge surprise to industry watchers who still don't have a clear idea of how he pulled it off.For insight, they need only look back at Marchionne's turnaround at Fiat, when he made the Italian automaker profitable for the first time six years and extracted $2 billion from a cash-strapped GM (GM, Fortune 500) in the process. [Read the full article]

From 2000 to 2011, Small Business Administration loans to physicians' offices, including private practice doctors and mental health specialists, ballooned to $675 million from less than $60 million."The fact that SBA loans have jumped this much is eye-opening," said Tom Blue, executive director of the American Academy of Private Physicians. "It definitely speaks to the story that doctors are struggling."Many doctors, especially those operating solo or small private practices, are cash-strapped -- taking out loans to make payroll and pay their monthly business and medical expenses, said Blue.Among the factors they cite for their shrinking revenue: falling insurance reimbursements, changing regulations and rising business, medical liability and drug costs.Consequently, Blue said a growing number of independent physicians are also seeking loans to transition their practices to more lucrative, insurance-free, business models. [Read the full article]

Investors apparently agree about the first two. Many food and beverage (ok, not water but name one drink that doesn't have H2O as an ingredient) companies are near 52-week highs.Fast food chains Yum! Brands (YUM, Fortune 500), McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) and Papa John's (PZZA) are chugging along. So are Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500), Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch (BUD) and energy drink producer Monster Beverage (MNST).And if you take a trip to your local grocery store, makers of almost any type of food you can find there are also near 52-week highs. Smucker (SJM, Fortune 500), Hershey (HSY, Fortune 500), Kraft (KFT, Fortune 500), ConAgra (CAG, Fortune 500), General Mills (GIS, Fortune 500). Heck, we've even got your Spam (the edible -- although that's debatable -- not the e-mail variety) Hormel (HRL, Fortune 500) is near a 52-week high too.It's an interesting phenomenon. [Read the full article]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Kia has announced the recall of nearly 146,000 vehicles with faulty airbag systems. The models affected are the 2006-2008 Kia Optima and the 2007-2008 Kia Rondo. Due to a flawed spring system that may become damaged over time, the driver's side airbag in these cars may not deploy properly in the event of a crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a recall alert.Kia reported the problem last week, and the recall is expected to begin in March, NHTSA said. Customers affected can have the problem fixed at dealerships free of charge.Kia said in a statement that it was not aware of any injuries or airbag non-deployments associated with the problem to date. The issue was discovered "as a result of the regular monitoring of field data to ensure product quality," the company said.For more information, car owners can contact NHTSA's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or visit www.safecar.gov. [Read the full article]

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