Ford salaries going up in April

DEARBORN, Mich. » Ford Motor Co. is showing confidence in its turnaround and in the U.S. economy by giving pay raises and bonuses to 20,000 white-collar workers mainly in the U.S. and Canada.

Workers received letters from President of the Americas Mark Fields last week saying they’ll get 2.7 percent base pay increases on April 1. They’ll also get bonuses this year based on their individual performances, spokes­woman Marcey Evans said.

Ford made $6.6 billion in the first three quarters of last year. It will report fourth-quarter earnings later this month. The company’s U.S. sales rose 11 percent last year. It has made a huge turnaround since 2006, when it lost $12.6 billion and had to borrow more than $20 billion to stay in business.

Salaried workers didn’t get pay raises last year, but many were granted performance bonuses. They received only merit pay in 2010, and no raises or bonuses were given in 2009, Evans said.

Wreck fails to mar cruise bookings

Bookings haven’t declined significantly since the Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Italy less than two weeks ago, a cruise industry executive said last week.

There has been no "significant reduction in activity" since the Jan. 13 grounding that killed at least 11 people and left 20 passengers and crew missing, Christine Duffy, president and chief executive officer of the Cruise Lines International Association, said Thursday at a briefing in London.

Duffy said large cruise ships are safe, and called for a review of regulations by the International Maritime Organization following the investigation into the accident that led the 951-foot Costa Concordia carrying 4,200 passengers and crew to run aground.