Author: Serkadis

Marketfolly got a hold of the letter David Einhorn sent to investors on Tuesday.

Greenlight’s various hedge funds were up 36.9%, 33.7%, and 30.6% in 2009, much thanks to the big earner for Greenlight in the fourth quarter, CIT.

Their investment gained 30% as CIT executed a reorganization plan in 40 days, says the letter.

The letter also says the fund will maintain their long position in gold and also stay short in Moody’s, despite its having been a loser for Greenlight in the fourth quarter. He thinks in the long run things will turn around.

But the hedge fund manager has less hope for some other investments.

“We closed some positions during the quarter that included some real dogs we bought before the crisis.” Namely, they sold their longs in Criteria Caixa, Echostar Holding Corp.-A, Nokia OYJ, Nyrstar, and IHOP.

Greenlight replaced them by taking up big stakes in Boston Scientific (a maker of medical devices), Delta Lloyd (a Dutch insurance provider), and Vodafone (a European wireless operator) during last quarter.

Towards the end of the letter, Einhorn updates his investors on a few fun personal details: they have a new employee and one of the hedge fund managers has a new baby girl.

“After much debate in [Mike] Offner’s household, Caroline Renee won out over Alpha Renee.”

Also colorful, Einhorn appears to be a fan of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The letter quotes the poet in the close of his letter,

“Do not go where the path leads, go where there is no path and leave a trail.”

Einhorn-Greenlight-Q4-09 –

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See Also:

• Einhorn’s Wrong, We Need Credit Default Swaps
• Einhorn: We Need To Ban Credit Default Swaps
• Einhorn Dumps Stake In London Pub Company

US authorities and UN agencies in Haiti must urgently resolve the lack of access to emergency aid for those in desperate need following last week’s earthquake, Amnesty International warned on Friday.

According to reports from official sources and relief organizations in Haiti, food, water, sanitation and vital medical supplies have arrived in the country but are still not reaching those in most need in many parts of the capital Port-au-Prince and in outlying areas equally severely affected.

There are reports from some areas, for example the town of Gressier, that distribution of essential supplies has still not started.

Amnesty International has also urged the US authorities and UN agencies to ensure protection of the most vulnerable in Haiti, especially unaccompanied children, which must be a top priority along with the distribution of food and water.

"Haitian children are at risk of being seized by people-trafficking networks, of being abused and used as child slaves, as well as suffering pervasive sexual violence. Special measures need to be taken quickly to protect those at risk," said Kerrie Howard, Americas Deputy Director at Amnesty International.

Special measures need also to be urgently established to receive thousands of displaced peoples fleeing the crisis to other parts of Haiti in need of water, sanitation, food and shelter.

More than 100,000 Haitians are feared dead after a 7.1 earthquake struck on Tuesday 12 January. Thousands of people are still unaccounted for and survivors await relief efforts from international donors to provide them with access to drinkable water, food and medical care.  

Demand is higher than the proposed supply for the 560-mile pipeline from Wyoming’s Flaming Gorge Reservoir to eastern Colorado.

By Brett Walton
Circle of Blue

Colorado’s potential water demand from a proposed water pipeline originating in Wyoming is 50 percent more than the amount proposed for delivery, according to documents submitted yesterday to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Water entrepreneur Aaron Million wants to sell up to 250,000 acre-feet of water from Wyoming’s Green River – roughly the amount used annually by Denver. But total potential demand from interested parties is 379,100 acre-feet, according to requests from Million’s customer list. Meanwhile the Bureau of Reclamation has said that only 165,000 acre-feet is available in order to maintain adequate stream flows for fish.

Million could not be reached for comment by the time this article was published.

Interested parties–including irrigation districts, municipal suppliers, ranchers and private companies–have not committed to any contract. They have expressed desire to acquire a certain amount of water from the project, depending on price and demand. Total cost for the project is $3 billion, but no estimates are available for the cost of the water it would deliver.

The Million Conservation Resource Group pipeline project would send water 560 miles across the Continental Divide: from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming to urban areas along the Front Range east of the Rockies. The pipeline, which would be laid on federally-owned land for highways and utilities, would end south of Denver, in Pueblo, Colorado.

The water is part of Colorado’s unused allocation of the Colorado River under the Colorado River Compact, Million argues according to the Army Corps, which is overseeing the environmental impact assessment. Wyoming does not dispute the fact that Colorado has a legal right to the water, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

List of Interested Customers for Proposed Flaming Gorge Pipeline Project.

The list of customers was required to show that the project is based on need and not speculation about future use. “We need to know the users of the water and how much they will be demanding,” Rena Brand, project manager for the Army Corps, told Circle of Blue in early January.

“Based on the information Mr. Million provides, the Corp will determine whether to proceed with the environmental impact statement,” Brand said.

The Army Corps declined to comment on the customer list while it is being reviewed.

Meanwhile, Colorado officials are taking a hands-off approach.

“Water is a private right in Colorado, so the state cannot propose specific concepts. A developer needs to come along to put forward those ideas,” Theo Stein of the Colorado Water Conservation Board told Circle of Blue.

Million’s pipeline is one of two proposals for developing the water in the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. The Colorado/Wyoming Coalition, led by Frank Jaeger of the Parker Water and Sanitation District, is a group of municipal suppliers also looking to deliver water to users in both states.

The Army Corps will hold meetings through late 2010 to gauge stakeholder opinion. A draft environmental impact statement will be available in 2012 and a final report is tentatively scheduled to be released in 2014.

For a more detailed description of the potential environmental effects see the Salt Lake Tribune

Note: the project timeline has been corrected from an earlier version of this article.

ZetaVu on the Snapstream forums pointed out a couple of very nice Hauppauge deals at Buy.com (affiliate):

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For more HTPC and tech deals head over to GeekTonicDeals

Looking for proof the recession is still here in full-swing? Look no further than the latest batch of unemployment data.

43 out of 50 states saw unemployment rise last month, with New Jersey alone hitting a 33-year high of 10.1%. Looks like America’s still stuck in dire straits.

———————————————-

AP: Unemployment rates rose in 43 states last month, the government said Friday, painting a bleak picture of the job market that illustrated nationwide data released two weeks ago.

The rise in joblessness was a sharp change from November, when 36 states said their unemployment rates fell. Four states — South Carolina, Delaware, Florida and North Carolina — reported record-high jobless rates in December.

New Jersey’s rate, meanwhile, rose to a 33-year high of 10.1 percent while New York’s reached a 26-year high of 9 percent.

Analysts said the report showed the economy is recovering at too weak a pace to generate consistent job creation.

“A lot of states that had started to add jobs (in November) gave up those gains in December,” said Sophia Koropeckyj, managing director at Moody’s Economy.com.

Texas and Georgia lost more jobs in December than they had gained the previous month, she noted, while Arizona and South Carolina lost nearly as many as they had gained.

That is consistent with nationwide trends. Employers shed a net total of 85,00 jobs in December, the government said earlier this month, after notching a small gain of 4,000 jobs in November.

In another nationwide trend, long-suffering states like California and Michigan saw their jobless rates stabilize even as they continued to bleed jobs. That’s because thousands of frustrated workers gave up hunting for work and dropped out of the labor force, which means they aren’t included in the unemployment rate.

California lost 38,800 jobs. But its unemployment rate was unchanged at 12.4 percent, the fifth-highest in the nation. That’s because 107,000 people, or 0.6 percent of the state’s workforce, gave up and stopped job-hunting.

Michigan shed 15,700 jobs, but 31,000 people left the labor force. That caused the state’s jobless rate to fall slightly, to 14.6 percent from 14.7 percent. Michigan has the nation’s highest unemployment rate.

Nationally, more than 600,000 people left the labor force in December, according to government data. The large exodus from the labor force indicates that “unemployment is a lot worse than the numbers suggest,” Koropeckyj said.

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• Jobless Claims Fall, Beat Expectations
• Help! The Business Insider Needs Another PHP Developer!
• SocGen’s Albert Edwards: Why You Should Be Freaked Out By The Divergence In The Household And Establishment Jobs Data

Filed under: Government/Legal, Chrysler, Ford, GM

General Motors is probably more glad than most companies that 2009 is in the past. After all, the Detroit, MI-based automaker saw sales drop by over 30 percent while suffering through the pain and humiliation of bailouts and bankruptcy. With billions in debt erased, retiree health care costs on their way out, fewer plants and dealers and thousands fewer employees, 2010 is looking a hell of a lot better than 2009. Those facts are hard to argue, but it hasn’t dissuaded thousands of Americans polled by Rasmussen.

According to a report by Rasmussen, Americans still think The General has a ways to go before it’s back on four wheels, as 45 percent of those queried feel the automaker will need more bailouts in the months or years ahead. Not everybody is bearish on GM, though, as evidenced by the 29 percent who felt the automaker is more likely to become profitable than need more bailouts. The rest of those polled don’t know what to make of GM’s situation.

As bad as those numbers look they are still better than Rasmussen’s findings back in September. Four months ago, 57 percent of those polled felt GM would need more bailouts. Interestingly, investors were reportedly a bit less skeptical than the average American, as 34 percent felt GM is more likely to turn a profit than again turn to Uncle Sam for additional capital.

Of the Detroit automakers, customers are predictably most comfortable with Ford’s situation, while only 22 percent of those polled felt Chrysler could profit without additional loans. Head over to the Rasmussen report for more info on its survey findings.

[Source: Rasmussen Reports | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

New Poll: 45% believe GM will need more bailouts originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CALGARY, Canada — Patrick Kane has scored goals in a wide variety of ways during his two-and-half seasons in the NHL, but when it comes to penalty shots he remains an oh-fer.

The winger was awarded his second career penalty shot during the Blackhawks’ 3-1 victory over the Flames on Thursday night at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

While on a first-period rush toward the Calgary goal, Kane was hooked by defenseman Mark Giordano and was given the opportunity to take on Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff one-on-one.

The veteran netminder stoned Kane’s forehand attempt and the game remained scoreless.

Kane exacted a bit of revenge when he scored a power-play goal midway through the second, his team-leading 21st tally of the season.

Photo: Patrick Kane is 0-for-2 on penalty-shot attempts with the Blackhawks. (Elsa/AP)

By Chris Kuc

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

Well, let’s hope the bad guys weren’t watching German television last week. A demonstration of one of those highfalutin—and highly invasive—full-body airport scanners caught a Swiss Army Knife and a cellphone, but none of the, uh, bomb components.

The big reveal comes at around 2:07, and is moderately to extremely terrifying. As Schneier on Security points out, the subject didn’t get scanned from the side. That’s reassuring until you see that there were still a few front-facing explosive bits that got through, and he didn’t even have to hide anything in a body cavity.

So, to sum up: full-body scanners are equal parts creepy and ineffective, the end. [Schneier on Security via Boing Boing]

PHOENIX — Thursday proved a mixed bag for Derrick Rose’s All-Star chances as the second-year guard attempts to become the first Bull since 1998 to earn a berth.

On the one hand, fans voted Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson in as an Eastern Conference starter at guard despite the fact the veteran is averaging just 14.4 points on 46 percent shooting.

However, Cleveland announced that guard Mo Williams will be sidelined at least one month with a sprained left shoulder. Williams represented one of Rose’s main challengers for a reserve spot, which will be announced on Jan. 28 after voting by NBA coaches.

Coaches typically factor team success into their voting for reserves, so it figured Williams would get major consideration to join LeBron James, who was voted in by the fans as a starter at forward.

Photo: Derrick Rose prepares to shoot a free-throw. (Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)

By K.C. Johnson

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

“This land is your land, this land is my land, from California to the New York island, from the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters, this land was made for you and me.”

Every child in the United States should know this time honored folk song by Woody Guthrie. Put to paintings by Kathy Jakobsen and with a forward by Pete Seeger, This Land is Your Land can be used to introduce all ages to topics in US History, Geography, and Economics. Jakobsen depicts the land and livelihoods of people all over the United States. Landscapes, cityscapes and landmarks are conveniently captioned and quotes from Guthrie and other famous poems and people about important US events and hardships are included on each page. This book also includes a 3 page fold-out picture map of the United States which depicts people all over the country and their cultures.

Appropriate at any age, this book is a wonderful addition to the classroom. Younger children will appreciate the sing-song fluidity of the words and will learn about the US and it’s people and places without even knowing it. In the last few pages, Pete Seeger pays tribute to Woody Guthrie and includes a short biography with pictures of Guthrie and his life and quotes from his songs. For this reason, this book can be used for older grades and ages as an author study. This book also touches on more complex world issues such as economy, class, and race which are important issues discussed in upper grades. This book is quick, easy to read, and versatile; it can be incorporated into any social science lesson!

“This world is your world and my world. Take it easy, but take it.”

Curriculum Connections

This classic picture book would be suitable for any age but relates specifically to the kindergarten and first grade students Standards of Learning as an introduction to geography. For kindergarten, this book provides a basic introduction to basic map skills and land masses as well as people in real life situations. For first grade, this book can be used to reinforce map skills and land masses and can be used as an introduction to diverse cultures and lifestyles and the location of landmarks and states.

Virginia Kindergarten Standards of Learning: Geography: K.3, K.4, K.5; Virginia First Grade Standards of Learning: Geography: 1.6.

Additional Resources

• The Official Woody Guthrie website– features information about the author, lyrics to his songs, and original artwork. Site also includes information about events and exhibits as well as a “Teacher’s Curriculum” tab with graphic organizers and curriculum ideas for elementary and high school subjects.
• National Institutes of Health, Department of Health & Human Services kids pages– feature the lyrics and a sound clip of the whole song “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie. Play the song while you read or let the children listen to the song afterwards to reinforce geography learned from the book.
• USA Geography- Interactive Maps – provides links to interactive maps that include state names, state capitals, and US landscapes. Some of the vocabulary may be a little harder for younger children, without an adult to help, but this source would be essential in mapping out Guthrie’s song and some of the landmarks from the book.
• A landform activity -would be a wonderful corresponding activity if the vocabulary is discussed before the book is read and examples of each are pointed out while reading.

General Information

• Book: This Land is Your Land
• Author: Woody Guthrie with a tribute by Pete Seeger
• Illustrator: Kathy Jakobsen
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
• Publication Date: 1998
• Pages: 32
• Grade Range: K-2
• ISBN: 0-439-13225-8

New Patriarch Irinej in Nis on 19 Jan 2010/Stevan Lazarevic

The  Serbian Orthodox Church elected a new leader on Friday seen as open to modernisation and interfaith dialogue at a time the country is seeking a future with the European Union. Bishop Irinej Gavrilovic, 80, will be Serbia’s 45th patriarch and the successor to the late Patriarch Pavle.

The church is an important moral force in Serbian society and politicians often seek its tacit support. Religion has long been a defining, and often dividing, characteristic of Slavs in former Yugoslavia, identified as Orthodox Christians, Catholics or Muslims whether or not they are believers.

Zivica Tucic, a Belgrade-based religious affairs journalist, described him as a moderate and constructive man.  “Patriarch Irinej is also very open to other churches and is a man of dialogue,” he told Reuters.

Until Friday, Irinej served as bishop of Nis, a large diocese in the south of the country. He remained largely neutral during Serbia’s turbulent 1990s and is regarded as a figure who could put an end to theological bickering inside the church and strengthen its role in society.

Earlier this month, Irinej said the pope might visit Serbia in 2013, marking a break with the church’s long-held opposition to a papal visit.

The election took place in seclusion in a complicated vote by at least two-thirds of metropolitans, active bishops and candidates for bishops who have run dioceses for more than five years.  Each member of the assembly voted for three candidates and the vote was repeated until the selection was reduced to three names which were then placed inside a Bible in sealed envelopes.

After a religious service, a monk picked one envelope and handed it over to the presiding bishop who announced the name of the new patriarch.  The so-called “apostolic vote” was tailored in 1967 to curb the influence of Communist authorities in Yugoslavia on the appointment of patriarchs.

Orthodox Christmas Eve in front of St. Sava church in Belgrade, 6 Jan 2010/ Djordje Kojadinovic

Irinej will likely maintain the church’s opposition to the independence of ethnic Albanian-dominated Kosovo, cherished as the cradle of medieval Serbian civilisation, but one Muslim official welcomed his appointment.   “I believe the new Patriarch will be more open for good dialogue and I believe we will start a new phase of cooperation between Kosovo and the Serb Orthodox Church,” said Qemajl Morina, vice dean of Islamic Studies Faculty, part of the Islamic Community of Kosovo.

Although the Serbian population in Kosovo has dwindled in past decades, the Serbian Orthodox Church still has dozens of monasteries and churches there.

Follow FaithWorld on Twitter at RTRFaithWorld

Jay Cutler, Brian Urlacher, Devin Hester, Tommie Harris and Alex Brown are among the Bears’ contingent headed to South Carolina for Gaines Adams’ funeral Friday, the team said via Twitter.

Also making the trip were team principal owner Virginia McCaskey and sons Michael, Patrick, George and Brian.

The Bears will take a team charter down for the service, which begins at 1 p.m. (Eastern time) at Rock Springs Baptist Church in Easley, S.C. Sixty members of the Bears organization, including about 25 players, are expected to attend.

Members of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also will fly via charter to attend the funeral. Adams was traded from Tampa Bay to Chicago in October in exchange for a second-round draft pick. The defensive end was the fourth overall pick by the Bucs in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Adams died Sunday of cardiac arrest attributed to an enlarged heart. He was 26.

By Vaughn McClure

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

General Motors acaba de anunciar el cierre de la fábrica de Opel situada en Amberes. En total, 2.600 trabajadores perderan su puesto de trabajo (sin contar la industria dependiente de dicha fábrica).

Recordemos que el plan de restructuración de Opel pasa por un recorte del 20% en la producción anual y un despido de 8.300 trabajadores. Por otra parte, en la planta que Opel tiene en Figueruelas (Zaragoza), seguirá abierta ya que esta encargada de la fabricación del Opel Meriva y Opel Corsa.

Lamentamos lo sucedido a los trabajadores de Amberes y es muy posible que en los próximos días veamos algún tipo de movilización en los medios de comunicación españoles.

Related posts:

1. Opel despide a 2.000 trabajadores de su fabrica de Figueruelas en España
2. Opel Meriva 2010
3. Fabricar un coche en Alemania cuesta 600 Euros más que en Figueruelas

If you’ve been living under a pop-cultural rock the past couple of weeks, you might have missed the “Pants on the Ground” meme, birthed on American Idol, that’s been going around. Basically, there was some Idol contestant, “General” Larry Platt who performed a song he “wrote” himself called “Pants on the Ground.” It’s awful in that “wow, this is going to be an internet meme” kind of way… and the Idol crew milked it for all it was worth. Not only are lots of people recording their own versions of it, Platt is appearing everywhere. However, this is a “mine, mine, mine” society, and Rose M. Welch alerts us to the news that Platt is complaining that he hasn’t received a dime from everyone using the song, and he’s lawyering up to try to fix that.

How ridiculous is this? The guy just got a ton of publicity and has made his name and his song known around the world. You don’t cash in by going back and demanding cash — you cash in by doing something new for money. He shouldn’t be hiring a lawyer, but a business manager. If people had to pay for every use of his song originally, no one would even know who he is.

Separately, the link above claims that “Platt never copyrighted the song,” but that’s not right. Platt automatically gets a copyright on the song once it’s been set in fixed form in some manner. So if he wrote it down somewhere or recorded it or something, he has the copyright. What they probably mean is that he didn’t register the copyright, which would limit his ability to do anything about it. Plus, I would imagine that the lawyers at Fox and American Idol made sure he signed over all sorts of rights before performing that song on the air….

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Today is the day that the wheels are falling off for Bernanke. He may not survive the weekend.

Dow Jones, via CNBC, says Harry Reid is now “undecided” on Ben Bernanke (already Barbara Boxer and Russ Feingold have signaled their intention to vote “no” today).

Why is Reid so hesitant?

Maybe it’s because, according to Nate Silver, his re-election odds are down to 20%.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Democrats Held Caucus After Massachusetts Where They Freaked Out About Ben Bernanke
• Obama Backs Bernanke, As Odds On InTrade Begin Sickening Plunge
• Uh-Oh: Now Senator Feingold To Vote Against Bernanke

It’s official. Europe is getting Final Fantasy XIII in limited collector’s edition form.

The Defender Range Blast Resistant Buildings where design approval for the structure of the unit has been designed and manufactured to meet the blast resistance criteria under the following conditions:

• Walls – Reflected overpressure of 650 mbar for a positive phase duration on 100msec

• Roof – The roof for the 650mbar module (reflected on the front face) would need to be able to resist the 320mbar pressure (side on or overpressure) for the duration of 100msec

• Floor– Reflected overpressure of 650mbar for a positive phase duration of 100msec

• Windows – Reflected overpressure of 650mbar for a positive phase duration of 100msec

• Door – Reflected overpressure of 650mbar for a positive phase duration of 100msec

• Door has been classified as Category 1

All Blast loadings assumed to be of a shock wave form i.e instantaneously rising at time t=0 to the maximum overpressure and decaying linearly to zero mbar at t=100msec

• Petrochemical Industry Recommended Practice on Design of Blast Resistant Buildings. Final report (April 1998) Appendix 1

• Petrochemical Industry Recommended Practice on Design of Blast Resistant Buildings. Commentary (April 1998) Appendix 2

All relevant design calculations are held within Eldapoint Ltd Quality and Contract records.

Units can be manufactured any size up to 32ft x 10ft. Designs for lower specifications are also available.