Author: Serkadis

Toyota is set to announce their new accelerator pedal fix Monday morning in the U.S..

Simultaneously, they’re launching ad public relations blitz to convince consumers that their cars are safe.

Reuters: Sources briefed on Toyota’s plans have said the carmaker expects to begin repairing or replacing flawed accelerator pedals on 2.4 million vehicles as early as this week. If all goes smoothly, Toyota could limit losses to a four-week sales shutdown.

The remedy being readied by Toyota and its supplier CTS Corp (CTS.N) involves a shim, also called a spacer, that will be placed in the accelerator to keep it from sticking, sources said.

Toyota also kicked off a media blitz on Sunday with full-page ads in major newspapers alerting consumers to the recall and production shutdown. Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., is also due to appear on a U.S. morning TV show, the Today Show.

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• Toyota Accelerator Pedal Disaster Won’t Come Unstuck As Shares Keep Crashing
• Toyota’s Over-Expansion Glaringly Obvious As Production Halts For Eight Models
• Japan’s Revival Lies In Becoming A Giant Toyota

The weekend was no respite for global markets, which continue to take a beating.

The Shanghai Composite is down nearly 1.9%. Economically sensitive commodity firms are taking the worst of it, according to Shanghai Daily.

The Nikkei is off modestly.

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• Chinese Songwriter Pens Tune About China’s Expanding Real Estate Bubble
• Can It Hold 3,000?
• World Markets Rocked As The Shanghai Vise Tightens Some More

Taylor Swift and Beyonce cleaned up on American music’s biggest night, but what other vocalists took home gold at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards?

Here’s the list of winners:

DJ David Guetta, When Love Takes Over

About two weeks ago, a startup based in Alexandria, Minnesota by the name of Striquent quietly launched a new website that combines results from major search engines. “The idea for qrobe.it was born out of a discussion on if the search experience can be improved upon or as the saying goes ‘one can’t improve what is already perfect,’” Nisha Boban, QA Analyst at Striquent, told Ars. “So what we did is focus on the user experience and meshed together the best of the Web, search results from Google, Bing and Ask, with ability to instantly share a URL with the leading social sites, save it, shorten it, verify it, etc.”

Boban believes Google came very close to perfecting the search experience many years ago, but since then the Web has moved on and the search giant has not changed its service much. Microsoft, on the other hand, rebranded its search engine by launching Bing “with a host of very good features,” but could have done a better job with branding (making the homepage pretty doesn’t cut it), she says.

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With only nine days left until we get to see Dante explore the nine circles of hell, Visceral Games has once again released a brand new video montage to show us some more gameplay footage of Dante’s Inferno. Watch

Beyonce made history at this weekend’s 2010 Grammy Awards, according to The Associated Press.

The singing temptress set a Grammy record for most wins by a female artist in one night after collecting six trophies – including Song of the Year for her anthem “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” — at Sunday night’s ceremony in Los Angeles. Mrs. Knowles-Carter is now officially the most decorated woman in one night in the 52 year history of the awards show. Before snagging her sixth win, Beyonce was tied for the honor of most wins (five) in a night for a female artist with fellow recording artists Alicia Keys, Norah Jones, Amy Winehouse, and Alison Krauss.

Beyonce had been up for a leading 10 prizes at this year’s show.

Beyonce may have been the night’s biggest winner — taking home a record-breaking six trophies at this weekend’s 52nd Annual Grammy Awards — but it was 20-year-old crooner Taylor Swift who won the coveted Album of the Year prize for her LP, Fearless. Taylor is the youngest artist in Grammy history to win the award for the year’s best album.

“I just hope that you know how much this means to me,” an ecstatic Taylor beamed as she and her band of producers and musicians converged on stage to accept the prize. “We get to take this back to Nashville. Oh my God. Our families are freaking out in their living rooms. My dad and my little brother are losing their minds in the living room right now. …This is the story all of us, when we’re 80 years old and we’re telling the same story over and over again to our grandkids and they’re so annoyed with us, this is the story we’re going to be telling over and over again — that ‘In 2010 we got to win album of the year at the Grammys.’”

Swift also won three other awards at Sunday’s ceremony, including Best Country Album.

As a result, pro investors are now aggressively shorting commodities according to Goldman Sachs.

They could make a killing. Chinese consumption growth prospects are slowing and massive inventory levels need to be worked down some day. Thus commodities will be under substantial pressure unless North American and European demand can some how pick up China's slack, and eat through huge accumulated inventories:

Malcolm Southwood @ Goldman Sachs: Our metal trading contacts report short-selling from hedge-funds and CTAs on a scale that we've not seen since the price collapse of 2H2008. Producer selling has also figured, and together these influences are forming an evolving counterweight to predominantly long index-fund investments.

One of the major concerns affecting market sentiment in the second half of January has been the notion that government action to slow China's economy will impact the country's demand for raw materials. We feel confident that real consumption of raw materials in China will hold up well, but we are of the view that tightening liquidity and relatively high metal prices will deter further stock-building of base metals for the time being...

This means that China's imports of all base metals in 1H2010 will be considerably lower than in the pcp. In our opinion, this puts the spotlight very much back on the developed economies, in that we need to see a significant improvement in demand for raw materials in Europe and North America to contain further inventory builds.

(Via Goldman Sachs, Base Metals: Suddenly... Nobody Wants 'Em!, Malcolm Southwood, 29 January 2010)

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See Also:

• RBS' Bob Janjuah: Commodities Are King 'Cause Bernanke Can't Print Them
• Howard Ruff: Gold's Great, But Silver And Uranium Are Where It's At
• WANTED: Money Managers Playing "Catch Up" To Save The 2009 Rally

Wade Roush wrote:

Just in time for fans facing the prospect of pigskin withdrawal after this weekend’s Saints vs. Colts Superbowl matchup, Foxborough, MA-based Quick Hit has added an intriguing, and potentially lucrative, new feature to its online football strategy game. For the first time, it’s giving players the chance to add past NFL greats of their choice to their own teams.

According to Quick Hit CEO Jeffrey Anderson, players can now put pros like Barry Sanders, Christian Okoye, or Ed “Too Tall” Jones into their lineups, using “coaching points” that they can either earn over time simply by playing the game, or purchase instantly for cash. It’s the first time since Quick Hit launched its online game last October that the company has ventured into the realm of virtual goods purchases, an increasingly important revenue source for many online gaming and social networking companies.

Up to now, Anderson explains, the teams that Quick Hit players develop and field in each game—whether in single-player games, or against another player—have consisted mostly of fictional characters called “Joes,” together with a couple of real football personalities called, naturally enough, “Pros.” Now players can buy more Pros over time, choosing from a starting roster of 130 football legends.

“Adding players of the type of legends that we’ve got makes your team instantly recognizable,” says Anderson. “A lot of these people are Hall of Fame, Pro-Bowl players who have had famous careers in the NFL. We believe we’re the first product in the world to offer the ability to use virtual currency to acquire players.”

The “legend” players come in three ability classes known as elite, premium, and classic, and are priced accordingly. To keep games even, Anderson says, Quick Hit’s programmers have created rules that will prevent less-seasoned players from trouncing competitors simply by purchasing lots of coaching points and stacking their virtual teams with elite athletes. The details are complex—but in essence, players can only buy legends whose abilities roughly match their own experience level in the game. “We talk about it as a salary cap,” Anderson says. “If I’m a level 10, I can’t have a guy who’s a level 100 on my team.”

Anderson says the new roster of legends-for-sale is just the first step toward the rollout of a larger player management system that would allow users to …Next Page »

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Grammy-winning performers Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige are hoping to raise money for the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti with their 40th Anniversary revival of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water –” which they performed onstage during the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday night.

“It’s the most amazing thing. We actually have a chemistry that works,” Blige said Wednesday after the Recording Academy announced that she and Bocelli would sing Bridge Over Troubled Water on Sunday’s Grammy Awards show. “What made me want to do this is the fact that this is a world situation,” Blige said. “Andrea represents another place that is feeling what’s happening in Haiti, too. I felt it was important for people to see us as a team representing what needs to be done.”

Their performance will be available as an audio/video download at iTunes and Target with all proceeds benefitting the American Red Cross’ earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.

Areview: The Natural WayHomeopathic Medicine, Herbal Remedies . Written on January 31, 2010 – 8:20 pm | by admin |. Read Full Article… http://www.menopausethenaturalway.com/ Relief of your symptoms of menopause the natural way without cancer …

Motorola’s Backflip has yet to springboard itself over to AT&T, but those who call China home can hop on the bandwagon right away. Said phone — which sports a full touchscreen and a physical QWERTY thanks to the horizontal clamshell design — is now available from Moto’s Chinese portal for 4,298 Chinese yuan (in unlocked form), which translates to right around $630. While the rest of the world awaits the phone’s launch later this quarter, you can hit up Mobile.163.com for a downright beautiful gallery of in the wild shots. Go on, it’s safe. We think.

[Thanks, Me]

Motorola Backflip spotted in the wilds of China originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jennifer Nettles and Bon Jovi take the stage at the 2010 Grammys at the Staples Center in Los Angeles….

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Toyota

After a long spell as the apple of the media’s eye, Toyota is now officially in the bad news barrel. So far the Japanese automaker has announced the recall of 5.3 million vehicles for floor mat issues that may lead to unintended acceleration and a separate recall of 2.3 million vehicles for sticking gas pedals (watch the explanatory video). The entire ordeal has been a public relations nightmare, and as you’d expect, Toyota’s stock is taking a hit.

Last week alone shares in the automaker plunged by a jaw-dropping 14 percent. That’s a drop of $21 billion (with a B) in market value. The lion’s share of the losses are likely due to investors’ unease at how the the mounting recalls are playing out, but we suspect that part of the issue has to do with Toyota’s handling of the recalls to date.

Last fall Toyota appeared to be calling the original recall of 3.8 million vehicles for floor mat issues a voluntary matter, only to be rebuked by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which insisted that the recall was mandatory. More recently Toyota announced that it was shipping new pedals to factories, only to change its mind and send the parts to dealerships after an angry response from dealers and the public. Mizuno Credit Advisory director Tatsuya Mizuno reportedly told Business Week that Toyota has “wasted too much time without doing anything,” adding that the automaker used to have foresight for taking action but is now, “very far behind the curve.”

Other than a 75 second television interview by Toyota president Akio Toyoda in Davos, Switzerland, Toyota hasn’t said much of anything about the recalls. That will reportedly change this week as the Japanese automaker hits the news circuit in an attempt to allay customer fear about the recalls. Toyota U.S.A president Jim Lentz will appear on the Today Show Monday morning, followed by a conference call with other media outlets. BusinessWeek reports that Toyota may also be close to announcing a fix for at least one of the recalls, which should help investors feel a bit more comfortable that the situation is being handled.

Toyota also took out full-page ads in 20 major markets to explain why it has temporarily suspended production at several plants. Oddly, the full page ad didn’t focus on the recalls. The ad (shown above, click to enlarge) says “A temporary pause. To put you first,” in very big letters, followed by an explanation as to why the plants were temporarily shut down in comparatively tiny letters. The ad doesn’t give any specifics about the recall, but it directs customers to the automaker’s website for information about the Toyota recall.

While Toyota’s ad blitz will no doubt be crucial to winning back its very faithful customers and the company’s considerable reputation for quality and reliability, still more hurdles lie ahead. The next major step will be the announcement of a fix, followed by a potentially embarrassing February 25 meeting with the House Energy and Commerce Committee to discuss the unintended acceleration claims and the NHTSA’s handling of the matter. Beyond that Toyota will need to absolutely nail the execution of the recall and get as many vehicles repaired as quickly as possible. Lets just hope dealers can fix this problem fast than Toyota can explain it.

[Source: Business Week]

Toyota loses $21B in market share in one week, plans media blitz this week originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Odds and ends, Apple

It must be nice to be the host of your own popular Comedy Central show and a host on the Grammy Awards. Why? You get to play with an iPad.

No, it’s not one of Tim Meehan’s faux iPads – this was a working unit that flipped from portrait to landscape mode when Stephen Colbert pulled it out of his jacket… or pants. Enjoy this short piece of video from tonight’s Grammy Award ceremonies.

TUAWStephen Colbert and his iPad at the Grammys originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Homebrew coder RRRDGames has released a new version of NotePaint, a simple homebrew application that allows you to take notes and draw while on the go. Check out the new features after the break.
 
 
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Michael Jackson’s children Prince Michael and Paris Jackson accepted the Lifetime Achievement award on behalf of their dad at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. Here’s a video of Prince & Paris’ message to Michael’s fans, which followed a tribute to the King of Pop by recording artists Smokey Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, and Usher.

Just moments after accepting a Grammy for Best Country Album and comparing the accomplishment to achieving an “impossible dream,” 20-year-old Taylor Swift shared the stage with rock icon Stevie Nicks. With a guitar strapped to her shoulder for a performance of “Today Was a Fairytale,” the curly-haired crooner brought the Fleetwood Mac blonde to the stage by shouting, “It’s a fairly tale and an honor to share the stage with Stevie Nicks.”

Kristen Bell is engaged to marry longtime beau — and When In Rome co-star — Dax Shepard, a rep for the former Veronica Mars star confirmed to UsMagazine.com on Sunday.

Shepard, 35, proposed to the 29-year-old beauty over the holidays, according to Us, who notes that Kristen debuted her impressive sparkler at tonight’s 52nd annual Grammy Awards.The couple started dating in January 2008. In a recent interview with Women’s Health, Bell described the couple’s relationship on set as competitive.

“We were trying to one-up each other,” she laughed. “That’s what we do at home, too. It’s like, ‘Wait – watch me do this funny bit.’ ‘No, watch me do this funny bit!.”